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Some 190 "smart eaters" and partners from non-government organisations (NGOs) today (April 13) received special thanks from the Department of Health (DH) at a recognition ceremony for their roles in promoting and facilitating the Hong Kong community to eat healthy.
The department has been encouraging the public to eat two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day while choosing dishes with less fat or oil, salt and sugar when eating out.
Over 80% of all heart disease and diabetes mellitus and one third of cancers could be prevented through practising a healthy lifestyle, in which healthy eating is a key.
Addressing the ceremony, the Controller of DH's Centre for Health Protection, Dr Thomas Tsang said, "The DH has all along been echoing the World Health Organisation's initiatives to promote healthy eating by collaborating with various sectors in the community to launch large-scale publicity campaigns across Hong Kong, such as the EatSmart Restaurant Campaign."
The EatSmart Restaurant Campaign was jointly launched with the catering industry in 2008 to advise food premises on the provision of "More Fruit and Vegetables" and "3 Less" dishes to the customers. Currently, over 650 food premises have joined the campaign.
Participants of today's ceremony are stakeholders of DH's 2010-11 EatSmart Customer Community Programme (ECCP) in which over 400 EatSmart Customers and representatives from 32 NGOs learned the principles and tips for healthy eating when dining out, with the smart eaters keeping track of healthy dishes and sharing experiences after learning.
Other officiating guests included the President-Elect of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology, Dr Chris Wong and the President of Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, Mr Simon Wong.
The ECCP was launched in 2009 by DH and the Hong Kong College of Cardiology in collaboration with NGOs to empower members of the public to eat healthy.
Ends/Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:35
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