Hong Kong health officials are considering introducing laws to regulate local school children's diets to combat growing obesity, the Sunday Morning Post reported.
   
A medical source said the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau had held several meetings with nutrition and health professionals about the feasibility of such a law, and the government hoped to draft a bill this year and table it in the Legislative Council next year.
   
It is estimated that legislation could be put in place by 2007 to coincide with the full implementation of whole-day primary schooling.
   
Similar laws are already in place in Singapore, the United States and France.
   
Hong Kong government and health authorities already have guidelines for the composition of lunch boxes, but these are not legally binding.
   
With obesity levels continuing to rise, health authorities warn that young people are increasingly being afflicted by diseases such as diabetes, which has traditionally been an illness affecting older people.
   
Health experts and many people at the education sector have welcomed the plan, with many seeing potential differences between the dietary habits of Primary Six pupils in 1975 and the same class in 2005.
   
Thirty years ago pupils usually snacked on food like streamed rice rolls, congee and fruit. These have now been replaced by burgers, ice cream and soft drinks.
   
Some health and nutrition experts also attribute the obesity problem to the inactivity of youngsters, as most of them spend their spare time watching television, playing computer games and studying.
   
Figures of the Department of Health show the average obesity rate for 6- to 18-year-olds rose from 16.1 percent in 1995-96 to 17.8 percent in 2002-03.
   
A Department of Health and Chinese University study comparing the height and weight of children in 1963 and 1993 found a dramatic increase in children's weight levels.
   
The mean weight for 18-year-old boys has risen by 16 percent, while their mean height only rose by 2 percent. The mean weight for girls rose by 11 percent, while their height increased by 1 percent.
   
Concerns over the nutritional standard of food at schools gained worldwide attention recently when celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched a campaign against junk food served in British school eateries.
 
(Shenzhen Daily May 16, 2005)