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Packing your own lunches is a healthy alternative to quick takeaway meals which may contain more calories than you need and harmful additives that contribute to weight gain and illness
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, lunch runs a close second. But for many Hongkongers, lunch is either an unhealthy affair due to limited options or skipped totally because of time and work pressures. Either way, you’re not doing your health any favours.
“A healthy, nutritionally dense lunch is essential to carry us through the day in an energetic, motivated and productive manner,” says Hong Kong-based health coach Rowena Hunt.
A packed lunch from home is an easy lifestyle tweak that could improve your health. Not only does preparing your own lunch mean you can control the calories and quality of your food, but also the portion size, says Hunt.
“You know what you’re getting, plus you can ensure that not only do you like what you choose to eat but it will fuel your body in the best way possible,” she says.
People who frequently eat home-made lunches or dinners – approximately 11 to 14 meals a week – have a 13 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease, compared to people who eat fewer than six home-made lunches or dinners a week, according to a 2015 study by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Overall, people who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to a study published in Public Health Nutrition in June 2014.