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Background and Aims: Unhealthy diets were found to be the main contributor to the overweight problem among adolescents. In this study, we aim to identify the factors causing unhealthy eating habits in adolescents. Methods: School-aged children and adolescents participated in this cross-sectional observational study with additional school and parental consent. A self-administered survey was conducted by 30 primary schools and 25 secondary schools. Participants were asked about the frequency of consuming unhealthy food and the types of unhealthy food consumed. A descriptive analysis was performed to demonstrate the proportions of characteristics. The prevalence of the outcome among participants of various factors was also analyzed using separate binary regression models. Results: A total of 4884 responses were collected. Among primary school students (grade 4, mean age: 10.06), people who (1) were actively gaining weight (aOR: 1.651, 95% CI 1.006-2.708, p = 0.047), (2) went to bed after 11 p.m. (aOR: 1.652, 95% CI 1.065-2.563, p = 0.025), (3) had more than 2 h of gaming (aOR: 2.833, 95% CI 1.913-4.195, p < 0.001), (4) suffered from self-report depressive symptoms (aOR: 1.753, 95% CI 1.233-2.493, p = 0.002) was more likely to consume unhealthy food. As for secondary school students (grade 3, mean age: 15.28), (1) males (aOR: 1.266, 95% CI 1.0004-1.601, p = 0.0496), (2) average-to-high socioeconomic status (Average: aOR: 1.471, 95% CI 1.115-1.941, p = 0.006; High: aOR: 2.253, 95% CI 1.585-3.202. p < 0.001), (3) having more than 2 h of gaming (aOR: 1.342, 95% CI 1.069-1.685, p = 0.011), (4) suffering from psychological distress (aOR: 1.395, 95% CI 1.051-1.852, p = 0.021) were associated with the increased odds of consuming unhealthy food. Conclusion: Several lifestyle and health factors were significantly associated with unhealthy eating behaviors in school-aged children and adolescents in Hong Kong, sharing similarities with many other countries. In conjunction with implementing a policy that addresses factors for unhealthy eating habits, further research should investigate potential interventions targeting these factors to ultimately tackle the overweight and obesity concern for children and adolescents in Hong Kong.
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AIM: To investigate the risk factors associated with physical inactivity of young children in Hong Kong. METHODS: This follow-up study was part of a prospective cohort study named Studying Impact of Nutrition on Growth (SING) initiated in 2015. Subjects were recruited from randomly selected local nurseries and kindergartens in Hong Kong. Self-administrated questionnaires were distributed to parents in 2016-2017 to collect information on: (i) socio-economic background; (ii) health-related factors, including gestation at time of birth, and hospitalisation of the child since birth; (iii) types of leisure activities, including time spent on electronic games and physical activity. RESULTS: A total of 1681 responses were collected. A higher likelihood of physical inactivity on weekdays was associated with being female, not being the firstborn, having been hospitalised three or more times since birth, and having physically inactive care givers. Meanwhile, children whose mother was unemployed/retired, and who spent more than 1 h on electronic games per day were significantly less likely to be physically inactive. Similarly, being female, being the secondborn or the thirdborn, and having a care giver with low physical activity level were associated with a higher chance of physical inactivity on weekends. CONCLUSIONS: Parental support could play a pivotal role in determining a child's physical activity level. Public health policies should be implemented to promote family-based physical activities.
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INTRODUCTION: Mesothelioma is an uncommon type of cancer which has received little attention. This study aims to evaluate the global disease burden; trends of mesothelioma by age, sex, and geographic locations; and its risk factors on the population level. METHODS: The Global Cancer Observatory, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Plus, and Global Burden of Disease were accessed for mesothelioma incidence and its risk factors worldwide. The associations between mesothelioma incidence and asbestos were evaluated for each country by multivariable linear regression analysis by sex and age. Average annual percentage change (AAPC) was calculated using Joinpoint regression to evaluate the epidemiologic trends of mesothelioma. RESULTS: The age-standardized rate of mesothelioma was 0.30 per 100,000 persons with Northern Europe reporting the highest incidence rates. The incidence rate of the male population was much higher than that of the females. Countries with higher human development index (ß = 0.119, confidence interval [CI]: 0.073-0.166, p < 0.001), gross domestic product per capita (ß = 0.133, CI: 0.106-0.161, p < 0.001), and asbestos exposure (ß = 0.087, CI: 0.073-0.102, p < 0.001) had higher mesothelioma. The overall trend of mesothelioma incidence was decreasing, although an increase was observed in Bulgaria (AAPC: 5.56, 95% CI: 2.94-8.24, p = 0.001) and Korea (AAPC: 3.24, 95% CI: 0.08-6.49, p = 0.045). CONCLUSIONS: There was a substantial declining incidence trend of mesothelioma in the past decade possibly related to the restriction of the use of asbestos in some countries. Meanwhile, the increasing trend in mesothelioma incidence observed in females might be indicative of an increase in environmental exposure to mineral fibers.
