Hongkongers’ growing love of booze could create ‘obesity tsunami’
More people will show signs of a number of chronic diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, warns academic
A worrying trend of Hongkongers consuming more alcohol has added to the problem of obesity, which will tip the city’s already overburdened public health care system over the brink in the next decade, hitting society like a “tsunami”, warns an academic.
But two public heath experts say an unhealthy diet, such as consuming excessive sugar, and a lack of exercise are still the major factors contributing to obesity. They called for the government to introduce wide-ranging changes, such as a sugar tax and enhanced health awareness, to help Hongkongers get rid of unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Their remarks came after a citywide health survey by the government revealed that half of Hongkongers aged 15 and above were either overweight or obese, and that the number of alcohol drinkers had doubled over the past decade.
“The urgency of the situation can be likened to us being threatened by a tsunami that will hit us real hard,” says Juliana Chan Chung-ngor, director of the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity under the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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The urgency of the situation can be likened to us being threatened by a tsunami that will hit us real hard
Chan warns that as a result of these health problems the city’s workforce would be reduced because an increasing number of people would show signs of various chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and different types of cancer.