The Hong Kong Special Administration Region government is set to conduct the fourth city-wide population health survey within the next year, which will assess residents’ health status and collect data for preventing non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

On Wednesday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau chaired a meeting to review the implementation of “Towards 2025: Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong”, and discussed strategies for tackling non-communicable diseases with representatives of various government departments.

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The strategy was released by the Hong Kong government in 2018, aiming to prevent and control non-communicable diseases. The initiative sets up nine health targets to be achieved by 2025, such as a 25-percent reduction in the risk of premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases, and a 10-percent reduction in the prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adolescents and adults.

Lo said that, like many other regions and countries, Hong Kong faces threats arising from an aging population and worsening non-communicable diseases.

Major non-communicable diseases, namely cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and chronic respiratory diseases, accounted for around half — 50.6 percent — of all registered deaths in Hong Kong in 2023.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to such a burden brought about by non-communicable diseases on the city’s healthcare system. In this connection, we must join hands with residents and all sectors of society to prevent and control non-communicable diseases,” Lo said.

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The upcoming health survey will review the nine targets outlined in the 2018 plan and formulate prevention and control strategies beyond 2025, according to Lo.

As per the Department of Health’s annual health report for the 2022-23 school year, approximately 90 percent of students reported inadequate levels of physical activity, failing to meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation of engaging in at least 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity.

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There is also a deficiency in the consumption of fruit and vegetables among children. The Department of Health advises that children aged six to 11 should have a minimum of two servings of fruit and two servings of vegetables daily, while adolescents aged 12 to 17 should aim for at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables each day.

However, according to data from another government survey, only about 50 percent of children aged nine to 11 met the government’s vegetable consumption recommendations. Overall, the average consumption of fruit and vegetables among children and adolescents aged six to 17 fell below the recommended levels.