Good Health Habits

Class: U6A   

Name: Wong Ka Man (18)

In previous decades, nutritional deficiency was a major concern for parents. Nowadays, parent face new health challenges: their children are overweight and unhealthy. Although HK indeed is a successful and prosperous city, behind the scenes, there is an alarming increase in people suffering health problems like heart disease and diabetes. A recent report has unveiled the staggering situation that many Hong Kong people suffer from at least one health problem. Let us explore the reasons behind this and suggest ways to improve the situation.

The culprit for this problem ought to be poor habits and lack of exercise. One such habit is spending a long time watching TV and playing video games. People do not bother to keep fit and do exercise. Not only does it give way to laziness, but it also adds fat to the body. Moreover, with the growing popularity of western-style junk food, junk food has become their main diet when they go out for lunch. This will lead to nutritional problems such as obesity, which increases the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol levels. Thus, there are many potential dangers from eating fast food.

Added to the above is the parental factor. This factor must be taken into account. Some parents even feel proud of their fat children as it symbolizes affluence and happiness. That belief is deep-rooted in many parents’ minds as they are influenced by traditional and conservative thinking. At the same time, studies show that students cannot maintain a healthy lifestyle if they are under stress. Consequently, the risk of suffering health problems increases.

If the trend is not rectified very soon, the next generation will be dangerously unhealthy. Health problems are not something to ignore and we should make people aware of the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and doing more exercise. Having a healthy lifestyle is a prerequisite to maintaining good health. For instance, the amount of consumption of fatty food, protein and carbohydrates should be exchanged for vegetables and fruits. By changing their diet, people suffering from at least one health problem will eventually cease to deteriorate their problems.

Admittedly, it is obvious that parents have scant knowledge of the importance of maintaining good health. Parents who feel proud of feeding their children with abundant food to show off at the cost of their loved ones’ health should be made aware of their ignorance. Rather, they should encourage their children to do more exercise and communicate with them more. They should take notice of the impact that they have on their children. As people lack dietary education, it is of utmost importance that the SAR government should put massive effort into educating the public and raising the awareness of this issue. Although education is a long term solution and cannot remedy the problem immediately, it can improve people’s mental and physical health in the future.

Let us fight against our enemy - health problems - for the sake of a healthy and happy life!