Physical Activity and Dietary Attitudes and Behavioural Patterns in the Hong Kong Community

FAMILY Holistic Health: Physical Activity and Dietary Attitudes and Behavioural Patterns of Chinese-speaking Individuals in the Hong Kong Community.

The health benefits of regular physical activity and a healthy diet are well established in literature. Regular physical activity and a healthy diet may reduce the risk of certain non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer, and contribute to mental health and emotional benefits, as well as social wellbeing.

Despite the health benefits of regular physical activity and healthy diet, most of the Hong Kong people live a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle and do not meet the WHO's recommendation on physical activity for health and on fruit and vegetables intake.

This study is to examine the physical activity and dietary attitudes and behavioural patterns of the Hong Kong community and provide a clear direction for future health education and awareness projects and campaigns aimed towards improving the general health of the Hong Kong community.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity; Dietary Habits

Detailed Description

The health benefits of regular physical activity and a healthy diet are well established in health literature. Regular physical activity is positively associated with psychological well-being (Bize, Johnson, & Plotnikoff, 2007), and inversely correlated with various illnesses (Pedersen & Saltin, 2006). Similarly, a healthy diet may reduce the risk of certain non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer (World Health Organization, 2015a; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2015), , and can also contribute to mental health and emotional benefits, as well as social well-being (Schooling, 2006).

The consequences of physical inactivity and an unhealthy diet are also well established in the literature, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that physical inactivity and unhealthy diets are two of the four main modifiable behavioural risk factors that contribute to non-communicable diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity.

Given the health benefits of regular physical activity and the detrimental effects of physical inactivity, the WHO recommends that children and young people aged 5 - 17 years should perform at least 60 minutes of moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity per day, and adults aged 18 years or above should perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. In terms of diet, the WHO recommends that for adults that a daily healthy diet should contain at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, no more than 50 g of free sugars, and no more than 5 g of salt.

Despite the health benefits of regular physical activity, most Hong Kong people live a sedentary lifestyle. Many do not meet the World Health Organization targets for physical activity. The Department of Health (2015) reports that only 15.3% of local children aged 5 - 14 years meet the WHO recommendations on physical activity for health, and the 2014 Behavioural Risk Factor Survey indicates that only 37.4% of local adults aged 18 - 64 years meet the WHO recommendations on physical activity for health. Similarly, most Hong Kong people do not adopt a healthy diet, with about four-fifths (79.0%) of adults aged 18 - 64 years failing to meet the WHO's recommendation on fruits and vegetable intake. Only 18.7% of local adults aged 18 - 64 years consume 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day (WHO, 2015b; WHO, 2016).

As the aforementioned figures indicate, members of the Hong Kong community do not meet the WHO recommended physical activity and healthy diet standards. Since these standards of regular physical activity and a healthy diet benefit health and wellbeing and can protect against non-communicable diseases, it is important, in order to improve general health, to improve physical activity and healthy diet practices and patterns in the Hong Kong community.

This study is to examine the Hong Kong people's attitudes and behavioural patterns in relation to physical activity and a healthy diet. Attitude-behaviour gaps may be identified, providing a clear starting point and direction for future health education and awareness projects and campaigns aimed towards improving the general health of the Hong Kong community.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 840

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 852
    • The Univeristy of Hong Kong

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years to 100 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Chinese-speaking individuals in the Hong Kong community

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Community events

• Chinese-speaking;
• Aged 13 - 17 years with a legal guardian present, or aged 18 years and above; and
• Able to complete the questionnaire.

Community workshops

• Chinese-speaking;
• Aged 18 years and above; and
• Able to complete the questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals failing to meet the inclusion criteria.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Cohort
• Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Attitude on performing physical activity	Attitude on performing physical activity will be assessed by outcome-based physical activity questionaire	baseline
Attitude on taking dietary habit	Attitude on taking healthy diet will be assessed by outcome-based dietary questionnaire	baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Behaviour on performing physical activity	Behaviour on performing physical activity will be assessed by outcome-based questionnaire	baseline
Behaviour on taking healthy diet	Behaviour on performing healthy diet will be assessed by outcome-based questionnaire	baseline
Behaviour on performing physical activity with family members	Behaviour on performing physical activity with family members will be assessed by outcome-based questionnaire	baseline
Personal well-being	Personal health and happines will be assessed by outcome-based questionnaire	baseline
Family well-being	Family health, happiness and harmony will be assessed by outcome-based questionnaire	baseline
Body composition	Body mass Index will be measured by an electronic scale	baseline
Physical fitness performance (Handgrip strength)	Handgrip strength will be measured by dynamometry	baseline
Physical fitness performance (Flexibility)	Flexibility will be assessed by Chair sit-and-reach test	baseline
Physical fitness performance (Balance)	Balance will be assessed by single leg stance test	baseline
Physical fitness performance (Muscle strength)	Lower limb muscle strength will be assessed by sit and stand test	baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
• Collaborators: The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Pedersen BK, Saltin B. Evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in chronic disease. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2006 Feb;16 Suppl 1:3-63. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2006.00520.x.
• Bize R, Johnson JA, Plotnikoff RC. Physical activity level and health-related quality of life in the general adult population: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2007 Dec;45(6):401-15. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.07.017. Epub 2007 Jul 21.
• Schooling CM, Lam TH, Li ZB, Ho SY, Chan WM, Ho KS, Tham MK, Cowling BJ, Leung GM. Obesity, physical activity, and mortality in a prospective chinese elderly cohort. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jul 24;166(14):1498-504. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.14.1498.

Helpful Links

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015) Nutrition and the Health of Young People.
• Department of Health. (2015a) Healthy Diet
• Department of Health. (2015b) Physical Activity
• World Health Organization. (2010) Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health.
• World Health Organization. (2015a) Healthy diet.
• World Health Organization. (2015b) Noncommunicable diseases.
• World Health Organization. (2016) Benefits of a balanced diet.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 16, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 27, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): July 30, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 3, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 2, 2019
• Last Verified: May 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 16-2019

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No