Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ20: Body weight of children
Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (June 6):
Question:
Will the Government:
(a) set out by groups each of two years and gender:
(i) the average body weight of new-born babies in the past 20 years, and the
respective percentages of underweight and overweight babies in the total number
of new-born babies during the period;
(ii) the average body weight of children under the age of two in the past 10
years, and the percentage of overweight children in the total number of children
during the period; and
(b) set out the respective percentages of overweight pre-school children and
primary school pupils in the respective total numbers of these two groups of
children according to the results of the most recent survey, and how these
percentages compare to the results of the preceding two similar surveys?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The data on new-born babies' body weight collected by the Government over
the past 20 years are detailed at Annex 1. As the data show, the average body
weight of new-born babies at birth is 3.16 kg in 2006, representing a decrease
of 50 g as compared with the highest average body weight at birth of the past 20
years. The decrease in the average body weight at birth is mainly attributable
to a decline in the percentage of overweight babies in the recent 20 years. The
advances of medical technology have also led to a higher survival rate for
premature babies whose body weight is generally lower, resulting in a lower
average body weight of babies. We do not classify and maintain data about the
body weight specifically for infants under the age of two and are therefore
unable to provide the data in part (a)(ii) of the question.
(b) Infants receive regular services at the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs)
under the Department of Health (DH) at birth and at the age of 1, 2, 4, 6, 12
and 18 months and 4 years. The MCHCs conduct growth monitoring for attending
children from infancy to the age of 5 years and measure their weight, height and
head circumference at specified ages. This serves to monitor the growth of
individual children for early identification and referral of those with problems
for follow-ups by specialists. Guidance is also provided for parents on the
growth and nutrition of their children.
At present, the MCHCs have not conducted overall collation and analysis of the
data of individual cases. Nevertheless, we have joined hands with various
academic institutions at different times to review and study the growth status
of pre-school children. A longitudinal study has been launched by the DH in
collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong on 8
000 children born in 1997. The findings, which were released earlier on, show
that babies who are born heavy or grow too fast run a higher risk of being
overweight or obese when they reach the age of 7. Besides, a preliminary survey
is being conducted by the MCHCs on the eating habits and obesity rates of
attending children aged 4 in order to get a better understanding of the
nutrition and growth of young children in Hong Kong and further improve the
existing counselling service on children's nutrition.
To better monitor the growth and the nutrition situation of children in
different periods and to formulate relevant policies and measures, the DH adopts
a set of standards that is appropriate for the physique of Hong Kong people to
assess the growth of school children. The standards were developed locally
according to the findings of a territory-wide survey on 25 000 individuals
ranging from birth to 18 years old conducted in 1993 by a group of experts.
Based on these standards, students whose body weight is greater than 120% of the
median weight of students of the same height in 1993 will be diagnosed as obese.
On this basis, the obesity rates of primary school students are shown in Annex
2.
According to the data of the DH, the obesity rate of primary school students has
been on a rising trend over the past decade from 16.1% in 1995-96 school year to
19.4% in 2005-06 school year. In view of this, the DH has launched the "EatSmart@school.hk
Campaign" in all primary schools in Hong Kong since the 2006-07 school year,
which aims to create a living environment that encourages and supports school
students for healthy eating and to enhance proactively the promotion of healthy
eating among them through the implementation of strategies in terms of research,
evaluation, education, publicity and advocacy, as well as multi-faceted
collaboration engaging schools, parents, food suppliers and the community at
large.
Meanwhile, the University of Hong Kong has been commissioned by the Centre for
Health Protection to conduct a survey on children's health, including the study
of the weight, height and Body Mass Index of children aged below 15.
Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:38
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