This table gives the opinion that dietary and nutritional intakes are not in balanced condition though literatures and researches say that Chinese cuisines and foods are good for health. The observation made in the above table points out clearly that though food seems to be healthy, nutritional balance is not achieved in places like Hong Kong. In this sense people do not look into the matter of maintaining a balanced diet. Some reports and surveys say that the percentage of obesity in Hong Kong is comparatively low, but the percentage of obesity is more prevalent among children than adults.
And the nutrition factors differ in rural and urban areas in Hong Kong , as people seem to follow food habits according to their own culture, with their corresponding influences. Life styles also have to be considered, in the sense that life in urban areas is very fast, and that there will be majority engaged as employees. Their life is basically fast moving and they tend to choose restaurants of relaxation and refreshments. This could be another reason for nutrition variation to become obese. Snacks, is yet another nutritional factor, becoming more prevalent in Hong Kong.
Hanru, Zou (2006) also points out that “Big Macs in Hong Kong arguably contain more fat and cholesterol than anywhere else in the world. They are the highest in calories, too. Along with those dished out in the United States, according to news reports quoting figures from the fast food chain’s website”. He is very clear in making the statement that the multi-cuisines followed in Hong Kong nowadays have more calories than the native cuisines. Diet restriction is stressed by all. ” According to reports from the global market information databases (2003), it said that more than 98% of the population of Hong Kong people live in small apartments.
Due to the restricted space, cooking facilities are usually limited, so that they tend to eat out more often than eat at home. Moreover, the working group have very busy lifestyles. People usually work for more than 9 hours per day, so that they would eat out more often than they used to. Restaurants and cafes/bars are also widely visited as appropriate places for business socialising and meetings. Snacks Consumption Taylor (2004) has observed and compared the variation that exists between healthy and unhealthy or less nutritious foods.
He says unhealthy foods are “highly assessable, convenient, promoted heavily, good tasty and cheap” whereas healthy foods are “less assessable, less convenient, barely promoted, less tasty and more expensive”. Welcome Supermarket in Hong Kong carried out a survey of its customers in late 2001 to ascertain their favourite foods. The results suggested that an increasing proportion of the young members of the population prefer instant foods, high-sugar soft drinks and high-fat junk foods such as potato crisps (GMID, 2003).
In a research conducted by Sei et. al (2004) have found out that different kinds of grain and meat had a negative correlation with measures of obesity. On the contrary, there was a direct, positive association between snack variety and obesity. In fact, in a multiple regression model, a food variety ratio which has been culled from snack, grain, and meet was a more reliable predictor of body fat when compared with dietary fat. Clearly, the variety of food that is taken in by the individual seems to contribute substantially to obesity.