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The EatSmart@school.hk (ESS) Campaign spearheaded by the Department of Health (DH) has received widespread support from the education sector, with almost 70 per cent of primary schools having participated in various events under the campaign. The number of schools joining and achieving accreditation as an EatSmart School is also rising.
The Director of Health, Dr P Y Lam, said the strong support by schools showed they had translated their enthusiasm into action. He called on schools that had not enrolled in the EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme (ESAS) to join the scheme and take a step toward healthy eating on campus.
Dr Lam was officiating at the Principal Summit for Primary Schools 2011 cum EatSmart School Accreditation Ceremony today (July 11). He noted that in the 2010-11 school year, more than 180 primary schools have enrolled in the ESAS, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of all primary schools in Hong Kong. Among them, 39 schools have been accredited and 19 of them have achieved the highest honour of EatSmart School.
ESAS is a key component of the ESS Campaign, which aims to make the school environment favourable and sustainable for the practice of healthy eating, bringing real improvements to school lunches and snacks in particular so that students can develop healthily and learn effectively.
Dr Lam also said that child obesity is becoming a serious health problem. The fact that one in every five primary school pupils is overweight is worthy of concern among the medical and school sectors.
"If the problem of obesity is not addressed early, more chronic diseases will emerge at an earlier stage. The cost that every individual, family and society has to pay will surge," he said.
Also officiating at the ceremony was the Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine Chan. She said that the joint efforts of the DH and the Education Bureau (EDB) together with the Committee on Home-School Co-operation and school principal associations over the years have yielded favourable results in promoting balanced eating habits and hence healthier growth among students.
Dr Chan added that in the course of setting the Learning Goals of the school curriculum, the EDB has incorporated "Developing a Healthy Lifestyle" as one of its overarching goals, with a renewed vigour to motivate students to achieve through action. Apart from subject learning, schools can also make use of school-based curriculum and various learning strategies, such as Moral and Civic Education and Life-wide Learning activities, to help students develop a healthy lifestyle in the light of promoting whole person development.
Meanwhile, the Principal Summit for Primary Schools 2011 was held to engage primary school principals and staff involved in developing school policy and promotion strategies on healthy eating in interactive dialogue regarding the promotion of healthy eating among students.
The Assistant Director of Health, Dr Regina Ching, introduced to participants the World Health Organization's recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children. She also explained the advantages of "on-site meal portioning" inside schools, which will not only effectively curb the use of disposable lunch boxes and cutlery, but also increase students' appetite for vegetables, i.e. to be both environment- and nutrition-friendly.
DH dietitian, Ms Mandy Kwan, talked about the department's revised nutritional guidelines and gave a demonstration of how to use the Web-based "snack nutritional classification wizard". Education Officer from the Education Bureau, Ms May Tsang, explained to schools the administrative aspects in promoting healthy eating practices in schools.
More information on the EatSmart@school.hk Campaign is available at the DH's website (school.eatsmart.gov.hk).
Ends/Monday, July 11, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:02
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