Press Release

Joyful Fruit Month celebrates 10th anniversary

30 April 2016

The Joyful Fruit Month event organised by the Department of Health (DH) has entered its 10th year this year and will continue to encourage students to have the habit of eating fruit daily for healthy living.

Officiating at the 10th Anniversary of Joyful Fruit Month cum Award Ceremony 2016 today (April 30), the Under Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said, "Eating fruits can definitely help prevent many diseases. The World Health Organization points out that consuming a sufficient amount of fruit and vegetables can lower the risk of stroke, cardiovascular diseases, and some types of cancer.

"Healthy eating habits need to be established from childhood. The DH, in collaboration with the Education Bureau and other organisations, has launched the EatSmart@school. hk Campaign since the 2006/07 school year to promote a healthy diet, in order to help children reduce the risk of diseases related to unhealthy eating habits."

Also speaking at the ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said, "From the initial Joyful Fruit Day to the Joyful Fruit Month today, the activity has been held for a decade. It has been well received by schools and the number of participating schools has increased steadily from 362 primary schools in 2007 to over 1,310 schools now. In the past few years, about 70 per cent of primary school and pre-primary institutions (PPIs) and about 30 per cent of secondary schools have participated in our activity. The number of participating students has increased from about 230,000 to over 520,000. About 60 per cent of students in Hong Kong have benefited from the activity and the achievement is remarkable."

Trophies were awarded to 134 primary schools in appreciation of their participation in Joyful Fruit Month activities for 10 consecutive years.

Dr Chan added, "A survey conducted by the DH from December 2015 to February 2016 on fruit consumption by primary school students reveals that 80 per cent of the schools surveyed have formulated a policy on healthy diet. Among those schools, 82 per cent encourage students to eat fruits daily. We also find that students from schools which had participated in Joyful Fruit Month generally considered that their schools have more substantive achievements in promoting fruit eating, compared to those from schools which had not participated. These achievements include providing fruits in school in the past week (77 per cent versus 64 per cent); always/sometimes organising activities to encourage daily fruit eating by schools (60 per cent versus 30 per cent); always/sometimes encouraging students to eat fruits daily by principals or teachers (55 per cent versus 40 per cent); and consuming fruits by students in school in the past week (56 per cent versus 53 per cent). Findings of the survey reflect the positive impact of Joyful Fruit Month on encouraging students to eat fruits in schools.”

Also officiating at the ceremony, the Deputy Secretary for Education, Dr Catherine K K Chan, said, "The activity of 'Joyful Fruit Month' serves as a good entry point for 'Developing a Healthy Lifestyle' among students, and it aligns with our learning goal of encouraging self-directed learning. It provides students with the learning opportunity to put the concept of health into action, which will eventually be internalised as a lifestyle. We expect that, through participating in this activity, students will further enhance their self-management abilities, and will enjoy a balanced development in their physical and emotional well-being as well as their studies."

The theme of Joyful Fruit Month this year is "Fruit·Your Perfect Buddy for Health", which aims to bring out the message that fruits are the companion to healthy living and the 10th anniversary of Joyful Fruit Month.

The DH launched the annual Joyful Fruit Day in the 2006/07 school year as one of the highlights of the EatSmart@school. hk Campaign to promote a daily fruit eating habit among students. The DH has raised the profile of Joyful Fruit Day to Joyful Fruit Month since 2013 and designated April as Joyful Fruit Month, in order to promote more fruit consumption in the community. The DH continues to encourage all secondary, primary and PPIs to take part in activities to boost students' interest in eating fruits and promote their health in the long run.

For more information on Joyful Fruit Month, please visit the EatSmart@school. hk Campaign's thematic website (This link will open in a new windowschool.eatsmart.gov.hk).