News on Media
Healthy School Forum to promote schoolchildren’s mental health
Date: 22nd April 2024
Research conducted by our centre in recent years has revealed that the mental health of today’s schoolchildren is less than ideal. As a response to this concern, our centre organized a Healthy School Forum this year using “Light Up Your Heart” to be the theme. We were honored to have distinguished guests, including Ms Michelle Li Mei-sheung, Permanent Secretary for Education of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR); Dr Ronald Lam Man-kin, Director of Health; Ms Scarlett Pong Oi-lan, Chairman of the Health Promoting School Advisory Committee; Dr Thomas Chung Wai-hung, Consultant Community Medicine (Family and Student Health), Department of Health; and Professor Samuel Wong Yeung-shan, Director of JCSPHPC, to share their insights on children’s mental health at the forum, hoping to raise awareness among schools, teachers, parents, and students. For more information about the key messages of this Healthy School Forum, you can refer to the press release below.
Published on: 22nd April 2024 Source: Communications and Public Relations Office, CUHK
An Overview of the Safety and Nutrition Quality of Lunch in Primary School
Date: 3rd July 2023
With whole-day face-to-face classes resumed in primary and secondary schools across Hong Kong, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has already received a total of 64 complaints related to lunchboxes from February to the end of April this year. The main issues were suspected unwell after consumption, food spoilage, undercooked food, and suspected presence of foreign objects. Besides, one major lunchbox supplier had temporarily suspended its operations for two days for deep cleaning of its factory premises, and subsequently announced an early termination of lunchbox supply to some schools for the current academic year, causing those schools to re-tender the service urgently which aroused the public attention on the overall quality of school lunchboxes for students. The government has been implementing the "Healthy Eating in Schools" program for many years, and various departments have issued guidelines which cover areas concerning nutrition, food safety and so on, hoping to help schools choose the most suitable mode of lunchbox provision. Now, as we enter a new phase after the pandemic, what choices do we have to enable school children to enjoy a healthy lunch? Professor Martin Wong, Director of the Centre for Health Education and Health Promotion CUHK shared the basic principles of a healthy meal, and registered dietitian Mr. Calvin Cheung also analyzed the nutritional value of four lunchboxes. If you would like to know more about the results of the analyses and some considerations when choosing lunch options, please refer to the following programme for more information.
Hong Kong Connection: Option A or Option B?
Date of Boardcast: 29th June 2023 Source: Hong Kong Connection
Buy Prepackaged Food Wisely: Knowing the Impact of Food Additives on Child Development
Date: 29th November 2021 By: Mr Calvin Cheung, Registered Dietitian
Food additives used in prepackaged food are generally safe to consume as long as they are not consumed in large quantities over a long period of time, but some past studies have shown that certain artificial food colorings, preservatives and artificial sweeteners used in prepackaged foods may cause allergy or hyperactivity in children. These food additives can commonly be found in candies, soft drinks, cakes, ice cream and popsicles. Have a read of the following news if you want to learn more about which food additives potentially affect a child’s development.
Food Colorings in Prepackaged Food May Cause ADHD – Opinions on Common Food Additives from Dietitian
Published on: 23rd November 2021 Source: TOPick
Strategy on Managing Picky Eaters
Date: 6th December 2021 By: Mr Calvin Cheung, Registered Dietitian
Picky eating may have negative impacts on growth of children, but parents do not need to feel too worried to avoid adding unnecessary pressure to them. There are strategies parents may adopt to help children obtain optimal nutrition and establish healthy eating habits which will benefit the long-term health of your child. For more information on how to handle picky eaters, please refer to the following article.
5 Strategies to Manage Picky Eaters Suggested by Dietitian
Published on: 23rd November 2021 Source: TOPick
The Chinese University of Hong Kong.