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Health promotion and disease prevention can only be achieved by community-wide participation. The Department of Health (DH) is again calling for community action to promote a culture including a healthy diet and regular physical activity, and for us all to work together to build a sustainable healthy lifestyle in the community.
The appeal was made by the Controller of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Leung Ting-hung, at the "I'm So Smart" Community Programme Recognition Ceremony today (April 30).
"To effectively tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it is essential that we adopt a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating healthily and taking regular physical activity, which are the two core messages of the Programme," said Dr Leung.
He said that the number of people affected by NCDs, such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, has been increasing in recent years, and there are also indications that they are occurring at a younger age. NCDs are closely related to the ageing population and urbanised living habits, and especially to an unhealthy diet and reduced physical activity. He reminded the public that many NCDs can be prevented by healthy eating and regular physical activity.
Some 600 community members and 60 partners from various organisations were commended by the DH today for their active participation and unfailing support for the "I'm So Smart" Community Programme, which aims at promoting and encouraging a healthy diet and regular physical activity in the Hong Kong community.
The Programme was first launched in 2012 by the DH to enhance community participation in health promotion. The core themes of the programme are healthy diet and regular physical activity. Last year, to echo the 2013 World Health Day's theme on hypertension, the Programme also included hypertension as a sub-theme to enhance public awareness of this silent killer.
Over 60 organisations participated in the Programme, including the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), Estate Management Advisory Committees of estates under the HKHA, Healthy Cities Projects and non-governmental organisations. They organised a variety of activities to promote healthy diet and regular physical activity, which recorded around 70 000 attendances in 2013.
Other officiating guests at today's ceremony included the Chief Manager (Management) of the Housing Department, Mr Virgil Hsu; Chairman of the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China, Professor Stanley Hui; Secretary of the Hong Kong Dietitians Association, Miss Sabrina Mok; and representative of the Hong Kong Nutrition Association, Ms Cecilia Lo.
Ends/Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:20
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