The proportion of overweight and obese people in Hong Kong increased by more than five per cent over the last seven years, making up nearly half the population, a study has found, as doctors warned against using injectable weight-loss drugs bought online or from parallel importers without a doctor’s prescription.
The Hong Kong Association for the Study of Obesity on Thursday revealed the findings of its latest study, which surveyed around 1,000 Hongkongers and found that 19.3 per cent of respondents were overweight, while 46.7 per cent fell under the “normal” category, according to their body mass index (BMI).
It found that 27.2 per cent of respondents were obese, nearly five per cent more than in 2018, when the association conducted its first study.
“In reality, obesity is a health-impairing disease,” association president Dr Andrea Luk On-yan said.
“It significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease and cancer. The cost of treating obesity and its complications is immense, placing a heavy economic burden on society.”
However, public perception of obesity has not improved over the past seven years, the survey found.
