The issue
A global trend of modern lifestyles including prolonged screen time, rapid urbanisation in communities, and a surge in automation of previously manual tasks has engineered physical activity out of children and adolescents’ lives.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a target of 10% relative reduction in physical inactivity in adults and adolescents by 2025. In line with the WHO, the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health in Hong Kong have formulated a strategy and action plan to reach said target.
Results of the 2018 Active Healthy Kids Hong Kong Report Card released by the team also indicated that there is a surveillance gap in active play and a need for obesity prevention among children and youth.
The solution
To address the aforementioned issue, the team provides training workshops and an evidence-based electronic portal for educators (TWEEET) to promote active play. The workshops invite experienced trainers and PE teachers to demonstrate active play and activities, such as Taspon and Pickleball, and exercises for improving aerobic fitness and body strength.
The electronic resources portal includes synopses of academic literature relating to active play and obesity prevention, and a series of exercise demonstration videos. The impact of TWEEET on teaching efficacy of promoting active play and obesity prevention will also be evaluated via validated questionnaires before and after the programme.
Impact
Educators engaged in TWEEET acquire knowledge and skills in promoting active play and obesity prevention. This positively influences student behaviours in physical activity and reduces their risks of developing non-communicable diseases that are attributable to physical inactivity. The electronic portal will be available to all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, serving as a convenient channel for latest information related to active play promotion and obesity prevention.
Beneficiaries
– 2,000 primary and secondary school PE teachers
– 2,000 health professionals involved in child and youth fitness training
– 50,000 primary and secondary students
– 1,000 policymakers and government officials
Project Team
Currently Chairman of his Department, Stephen is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM). His research interests involve exercise metabolism, sports nutrition, physical activity and health. He co-founded the Active Healthy Kids Hong Kong Report Card on physical activity for children and youth – the first evidence-based synthesis of a series of indicators related to individual behaviours that contribute to overall physical activity levels, settings and sources of influence, strategies and investments in Hong Kong.
