Nutritional imbalance could affect physical and mental development of Hong Kong underprivileged children, survey shows
- People Service Centre interviewed 246 children aged six to 11, found all of them did not meet standards for sufficient intake of at least one of five food categories
- Nutritional deficiencies and imbalances could lead to health problems in children, increase risks of chronic illnesses, dietitian Yuen Hoi-kei says
Children from low-income families in Hong Kong are not getting enough nutrients in at least one of five categories of food, with nine out of 10 children not consuming enough dairy, a survey has found.
The poor diet could affect their physical and mental development, the People Service Centre said on Saturday.
The charity, formed in 2002 to help the underprivileged in Hong Kong, interviewed 246 children aged six to 11 from low-income families between June and September last year.
The survey, released on Saturday, found that all the children did not meet the standards for sufficient intake of at least one of the five categories of food, including grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, and milk and other alternatives.
Among them, 38 children, or 15 per cent of the total, did not consume enough in all of the categories.