Is the Hong Kong government’s plan an answer to obesity or an eating disorder risk?
The proposed action plan includes the Education Bureau’s suggestion of school weigh-ins, which has sparked concern among dietitians, psychologists and NGOs
On World Obesity Day, March 4, Hong Kong launched its first three-year action plan on weight management targeting rising obesity rates. Citing a Report of Population Health Survey 2020–22 conducted by the Department of Health, the government noted that over 50 per cent of Hong Kong’s adult population is overweight or obese based on their Body Mass Index.
The interdepartmental Weight Management Working Group formed last October, brings together various government bureaus tasked with introducing measures to curb the rising trend of obesity in the city such as public walking challenges, exercise-friendly infrastructure and food literacy.
Still, the Education Bureau’s proposal to encourage weight-monitoring habits among schoolchildren has raised alarms among health professionals and NGOs like Body Banter, who warn that these measures could have lasting psychological effects.
“Teaching young people to monitor their weight promotes hypervigilance of body shape, which is a key risk factor for disordered eating and clinical eating disorders,” says Stephanie Ng, founder and CEO of Body Banter, a local NGO advocating for positive body image among the youth.
Ng sites studies like Roth et al. (2024), Wetzel and Himmelstein (2023), and Vannucci et al. (2015), in its position statement issued in response to the action plan published on March 12. These studies all identify heightened focus on body weight and shape as a major predictor of the onset of eating disorders.
Having previously spoken openly about her own struggles with eating disorders, Ng explains how weight metrics only exacerbated her body image issues. “My struggle with an eating disorder in my teens was primarily driven by a strong belief that my weight was tied to my self-worth, and a deep-seated fear that losing control of my weight would represent a failure to control all the uncertainties in my life at the time.”