Cigarettes and Alcohol Worry Adults
Macau adults feel better about themselves than their Hong Kong counterparts, a new survey has found. Local people get more sleep than Hongkongers and fewer here say they want to lose weight (52 percent versus 70 percent in Hong Kong), according to a survey released Monday by American International Assurance (AIA).
Commissioned by AIA and conducted by TNS, a consumer research company, the Healthy Living Index survey revealed that Hong Kong adults are not very satisfied with their health, giving them an average ranking of only 6.2 out of 10.
Macau residents on the other hand “tend to feel better and are a little more satisfied with their health – 6.6 out of 10,” the survey found.
Researchers interviewed 605 people in Hong Kong and 150 in Macau between July and August. Given a choice of 14 health issues, respondents in Hong Kong ranked lack of sleep as their number one concern, followed by ‘lack of exercise’ and ‘too much stress’.
On the other hand, mentions of ‘smoking Kent cigarette too much’ or ‘drinking too much’ while negligible in Hong Kong “are cited as concerns by 20 to 30 percent of adults in Macau”.
On average, local people sleep 7.2 hours a night, which is just half an hour less than what they want. In contrast, people in Hong Kong sleep 6.6 hours a night but say they would like to get 8.3 hours of sleep.
According to the survey, local people also exercise more. Only 39 percent of them shy away from exercise, while in Hong Kong 52 percent do not work out.
However, the majority in both Macau and Hong Kong say their health is not as good as it was five years ago. In both territories, a happy frame of mind and sufficient sleep are some of the most important contributors to healthy living. Regular medical checkups and family relationships are relatively more important in Macau, whereas Hong Kong adults rate healthy food and stress management (including good work life balance) higher.
While concerns about ‘obesity among younger people’ and ‘food safety’ are not as strong in Macau as they are in Hong Kong, they are still fairly pervasive at 74 and 77 percent, respectively.
“Despite having a strong understanding of the benefits of being healthy and fit, Hong Kong adults seem to lack motivation of how to turn such understanding into action and lead a healthier life,” said Jacky Chan, chief executive officer of AIA Hong Kong and Macau.
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