Children's exercise habits reflect those of their parents
If you want your children to be more active, you need to lead by example
Concerned that your child is getting fat? You can do something about it simply by increasing your own physical activity. Studies have shown that the activity of a parent correlates with that of their child.
"At the school level, we can encourage more exercise, but ultimately the habits of the family are more important," says Dr Patrick Ip, board member of the Hong Kong Child Health Foundation and clinical associate professor at the department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine at the University of Hong Kong.
About 27 per cent of Hong Kong school students aged six to 19 years are overweight or obese, according to data presented by Ip at a press conference on January 5.
Detailed health and fitness data was collected from 173 schools for a total of about 100,000 students in the 2013/14 school year. The schools were part of the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme, a population-based programme that started in 1990 to promote physical activity and fitness among students.
In 2013, the department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine developed a centralised online platform to facilitate the collection of students' detailed health and fitness data.
It found that the flexibility of the average Hong Kong schoolgirl was at the bottom of the Singaporean standard, and below their mainland counterpart's average.