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FAO:
All health and food writers/editors
Date of Release: 21-August-2002
The Asian Food Information Centre (AFIC) today announced the results
of a new survey of Asian children and obesity on the closing day of
the Asian Congress of Dietetics in Kuala Lumpur. The study
investigated health and nutrition knowledge, attitudes and behavior
of 1815 children aged 10-12 in four cities across Asia. 1 in 4
children included in the survey was found to be overweight or obese,
and for boys this figure rose to 1 in 3. The study also found that
those boys who were overweight tended to eat out more often than
their slimmer peers, spent more time doing sedentary activities at
the weekend, such as using the computer and watching TV, and were
more likely to skip breakfast.
The majority of children were found to have fairly accurate
knowledge about nutrition and when the children were asked which
were their favourite foods, the top choices were all foods that
nutritionists recommend we eat more of – rice, bread, fruits, green
leafy vegetables and fish. Children also showed high levels of
awareness that foods containing the most sugar, fats or calories
such as candies and fast foods were OK to eat occasionally, but not
every day.
However, the children surveyed were found to be less knowledgeable
about the importance of physical activity. Furthermore many children
were not achieving the recommended 60 minutes or more of exercise
recommended for this age group by the Council for Physical Education
for Children.
Researchers from the four universities involved in this study all
conclude that nutrition and health education programmes appear to be
achieving some success in teaching children basic nutrition, but
further research and development of health promotion materials in
necessary to ensure this knowledge is actually used well. Nutrition
education materials need to motivate as well as inform children of
the benefits of a healthy diet and maintaining a normal healthy
weight.
More work is needed to ensure that both children and their carers
understand the benefits of physical activity and to encourage
children to do at least one hours of physical activity each day. For
this to be successful, it seems likely that the key message has to
be that fitness can be fun and can fit in with other all the other
interests and activities of this age group.
Georgina Cairns of AFIC suggests that ‘parental involvement and
school-based physical education programmes which fit in with the
interests and lifestyles of children is key: When we asked the
children why they didn’t do more sport or active play, the top
reasons given were homework, lack of time and preferring to use
leisure time for other activities. Young people today face many time
pressures and if they are to maintain the exercise habit, we have to
find ways to help them fit sports into their busy schedules”.
Senior academics involved in the survey echo these comments :
Professor Georgia Guldan of Hong Kong, believes that “knowledge is
not enough, and that schools and families need to become more
involved in encouraging children to spend less time watching TV and
playing computer games and more time playing and pursuing physical
activities such as rope skipping, basketball and soccer”.
Dr Poh Bee Koon of Keebangesen University of Malaysia notes that
parental involvement is crucial “in Malaysia we found parental
involvement is important. 90% of the children reported that they
like their parents to bring them for their sports activities and to
watch them play”.
Dr Kallaya, the lead researcher for the Thailand study says, “there
is mounting evidence that the worldwide rise in overweight and
obesity levels, is due to falling physical activity levels. We live
in an era with countless labor saving devices such as cars, the
Internet and remote TV controls. When you combine this fact with
increased work and school related time pressures, people are getting
less exercise and the amount of energy, or calories, we expend has
fallen dramatically. The end-result is simple and highly predictable
– many of us and our children are getting fatter.”
“These patterns mirror similar trends in other parts of the world,
where childhood obesity and overweight are increasing rapidly,” said
Dr Molano of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute in the
Philippines. The so-called ‘globesity’ epidemic is causing
widespread alarm amongst medical experts throughout the world. The
focus of nutrition materials is no longer on undernutrition. The
importance of a balanced diet and regular exercise should be
continuously stressed.
As part of an ongoing programme to inform and motivate children and
young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle, the Asian Food
Information Centre in collaboration with the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organisation has just launched a new leaflet which
highlights how eating well and staying fit can be fun and fit easily
into the busy lifestyle of today’s young people. Short simple
messages with funky modern graphics are used to promote some of the
most important health and nutrition messages for children and young
people in today’s fast-paced and sophisticated modern world.
The “Take 10 Tips” leaflet can be ordered from the AFIC by
emailing info@afic.org .
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Additional Information
Overweight children face increased risks of developing diabetes,
asthma, low self-esteem and other symptoms of ill health and
unhappiness. Children who are overweight are also more likely to
grow up to be overweight adults with higher risk of suffering from
heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some cancers than adults who are
not overweight.
The survey was conducted by Keebangsen University in Malaysia,
Mahidol University in Thailand, the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute in the Philippines, and the Chinese University of Hong
Kong and was funded and co-ordianted by the Asian Food Information
Centre.
The Asian Food Information Centre (AFIC) is a Singapore-based
not-for-profit organisation,.. AFIC disseminates science-based
information on nutrition, health and food safety across the Asia
Pacific region. To request copies of any of AFIC’s materials, for
more information on the study, or to contact Georgina Cairns please
contact info@afic.org or telephone +662 318 1578.
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