The Department of Health has raised concerns over the physical well-being of students, with its latest annual report revealing persistent challenges in weight management and rising rates for myopia amid excessive use of mobile phones.

Its student health service annual report for the 2024-2025 school year showed that 17.5 percent of students were overweight or obese – a slight uptick from 17.1 percent the previous year.

Bad dietary and exercise habits remain significant contributors as 89.4 percent of students were not consuming enough fruits and vegetables and a staggering 93.6 percent were falling short of the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, a consultant in community medicine at the department, warned of long-term health risks associated with childhood obesity.

"Being overweight during childhood and adolescence adversely affects health and is associated with a greater risk and earlier onset of various non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers," she said.

She pointed to the government’s newly launched action plan on weight management as a key initiative to address the issue through cross-departmental collaboration.

Vision health is also a growing concern, with the proportion of primary one students who wear glasses reaching 14.5 percent, a noticeable rise from the pre-pandemic level of around 11 percent.

By primary six, that figure surges to 55.1 percent.

Health officials link the deterioration in eyesight to excessive use of electronic devices.

On a typical school day, 41.8 percent of primary students spend two hours or more on recreational screen time with devices – which is an improvement from the last school year but still well above the pre-pandemic benchmark of about 30 percent.

Among secondary students, the rate skyrockets to 81.1 percent.

In response, the department is reviewing current evidence on the health impact of screen exposure and plans to issue updated recommendations for children and adolescents this year.

On a positive note, the report found that most students reported enjoying their family and school environments.

Reports of cyberbullying dropped to 2.1 percent, and the percentage of students who reported having suicidal thoughts or had attempted suicide also declined compared to the previous school year.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden