Food for fraught

Seated at a long table in a popular western eatery, adults and children are enjoying an unlimited Sunday buffet. As the parents tuck into the salads, seafood and pasta from the buffet table, the children get to choose from the a la carte menu. Of the nine items on the Kids' Menu at this restaurant, six contain the word fried, four contain the word cheese, and there's not even a hint of a fresh vegetable. Is it any wonder children are becoming obese?

The numbers of obese school children in Hong Kong has risen to 18 per cent from 16 per cent during the past decade, according to recent government figures. Experts blame the increase on fast food and convenience meals, and the erosion of traditional eating patterns. Although many adults are slowly beginning to accept the long-term benefits of healthy eating, there are concerns that growing numbers of children are being fed junk food. And nowhere is that more obvious than in the city's many western- style restaurants. Walk into any so-called family restaurant and invariably the children's menu will be loaded with carbohydrates and trans-fats, all packed into bland beige rectangles of fried potatoes, fish fingers or chicken nuggets.

'Hong Kong people are demanding more choice and healthier meals, but this demand doesn't seem to extend to our kids,' says Wynnie Chan, a nutrition consultant and mother of two.

Many parents welcomed children's menus when they began appearing in restaurants about 20 years ago. The only hopes of a peaceful meal for many parents when dining out with children is to bribe them with plates of chips and bowls of ice cream. And many restaurants regard so-called family-friendly menus as simply a way to attract early custom.