Help Hong Kong’s schoolchildren learn the value of regular exercise
If you walk around Hong Kong, you will find more and more schoolchildren are overweight these days. This is a worrying trend, presumably caused by a lack of physical activity.
Sedentary children not only face an increased risk of being overweight or obese in adulthood, but are also more prone to obesity-related health problems.
Inactive children are also at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, as well as high blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, and tend to have a more pessimistic outlook on life.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal, a contributing factor to the lack of physical activity in young students is a heavy workload.
Nowadays, teenagers end up doing homework until well past midnight, thus it is no wonder that they have no time to exercise.
So how do we resolve this problem? Perhaps we should have a “no-homework day” each week, so that children can participate in their favourite sports activities.