Press Release

Number of accredited schools moves upward steadily in EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme

25 June 2015

The EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme (ESAS), jointly organised by the Department of Health (DH) and the Education Bureau (EDB), continues to receive widespread support from the education sector. The numbers of both the participating schools and those achieving accreditation have been increasing steadily.

The Head of the Surveillance and Epidemiology Branch of the Centre for Health Protection of the DH, Dr Regina Ching, said at the Healthy Eating Forum cum EatSmart School Accreditation Ceremony 2015 today (June 25), "A total of more than 230 primary schools, accounting for over one-third of all primary schools in Hong Kong, had enrolled in the ESAS and 108 of them had attained accreditation, representing about 46 per cent of those enrolled. Of all the accredited schools, 90 have achieved the highest honour of EatSmart School. The accomplishments are encouraging."

Dr Ching added, "I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for the effort by the principals, teachers and parents, as well as the co-operation of food suppliers, to make the campus a nutrition-friendly place for building up a healthy eating habit. I would also like to express my gratitude to the EDB for the continuous support to make EatSmart@school.hk a remarkable campaign with support from all walks of the community."

According to the accreditation criteria of the ESAS, participating schools have to demonstrate commitment in continuously implementing school policy and administrative measures, providing healthy lunches and snacks, and organising educational programmes and publicity events to safeguard a nutrition-friendly school environment for children. Hence, all accredited schools are exemplars of the education sector.

Dr Ching said, "There had been a decreasing trend in the overweight and obesity rates among primary students in recent years. The achievement was a result of the concerted efforts of schools, parents and students, as well as the support of various stakeholders in the community. Notwithstanding, one in every five primary students is still overweight or obese, so efforts will continue in tackling the childhood obesity problem."

Also officiating at the ceremony, the Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine K K Chan, said "Leading a Healthy Lifestyle" is an overarching learning goal of the school curriculum in Hong Kong. With the advent of "Learning to Learn 2.0" in curriculum development, strengthening the elements of healthy education is one of the tasks that that need to be focused on. She appealed to the public to work together to create an environment that fosters a healthy lifestyle for students. Through whole-school curriculum planning and diverse learning activities, students are enabled to understand the importance of healthy eating habits and put them into practice. The abilities of self-management among students could also be further enhanced to enable them to take the initiative to establish a healthy and balanced lifestyle and strike a balance between personal growth and academic development. This would thereby achieve the objectives of whole-person development and lay the foundations for their future development.

The topic of the Healthy Eating Forum this year was "10 food traps in campus". The Honorary Secretary of the Hong Kong Association for the Study of Obesity, Professor Alice Kong, explained the commonly seen food traps in campuses and gave advice in the Forum on ways to avoid falling into those traps.

More information on the ESAS is available at the DH's thematic website of the EatSmart@school.hk Campaign ( school.eatsmart.gov.hk ).