7th December, 2006

Near 90% Hong Kong Women are Health-conscious
Yet Majority have Limited Knowledge of Healthy Diet

Misconceptions about Healthy Diet :
93% Women Assimilate Inadequate Daily Calcium-intake

Chairman of Hong Kong Dieticians Association and Doctor from the
Chinese University of Hong Kong Share Tips for Healthy Lifestyle

~ Daily Intake of 2-3 servings of Hi-Calcium Food helps Maintain Bone Health ~

In recent years, modern women have become more conscious of personal health. It is also easy to obtain a wide range of health information from various channels. To truly examine whether women actually live healthful lifestyles with proper daily diet and habits, Calci-Plus, one of Hong Kong's leading healthy soya drinks, and the Hong Kong Dieticians Association (HKDA) appointed ESDlife to conduct the "Nutritious Diet for a Healthy Life" survey.

A total of 2,225 female respondents were successfully surveyed, with over 60% being white-collar office ladies aged 25 to 39. At the press conference, registered dieticians and a doctor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) interpreted the survey results and analyzed women's common misconceptions regarding what is considered a healthy diet. Through relevant case sharing, the professionals offered tips on healthy lifestyle with the aim to encourage women to live healthy metropolitan lifestyles and take care of their own health amidst busy lives.

Only 15% of local females adopt balanced diet, 93% have insufficient calcium-intake

The survey revealed that 87% of the surveyed Hong Kong females are health-conscious. However, only 15% of them actually adopt balanced diets to maintain health. While 80% of the ladies work overtime, 91% of them delay meals due to work and 12% of them even delay all three basic meals. Some of the respondents even skipped meals, totally violating the healthy practice of timely diet.

A daily intake of 1,000mg, equivalent to 2-3 serving of hi-calcium food (at least 300mg calcium is provided in every serving of hi-calcium food) is necessary to achieve bone health. Nevertheless, 93% of the females only have calcium food of one or less serving, which is below standard. Nearly half (48%) of the females do not have a milk-drinking habit, with many (32%) not doing so because they feel sick after drinking milk.

Intake of 2-3 Servings of Hi-Calcium Food helps Maintain Bone Health

Ms. Sylvia Lam from the HKDA recommends a daily intake of 2-3 servings of hi-calcium food to maintain bone health. Ms. Lam suggested that people who are intolerant to the lactose present in milk can instead choose calcium-enriched soya beverages, yogurt, low-fat cheeses, tofu, hi-calcium green leafy vegetables or fish with edible bones as alternatives which are also effective in ensuring sufficient calcium-intake for bone health. The alternatives also avoid any sickness from milk consumption. Ms. Lam also recommended the public to check food labels to understand their calcium content.

Department of Community and Family Medicine and Food and Nutritional Sciences Program, The Chinese University of Hong Kong has completed a one-year intervention study * to assess the "Effects of Calcium-fortified Soymilk on Bone Mass in Local Adolescent Girls (aged 14-16 years)". About 100 girls received daily 375ml calcium-fortified soymilk as supplementation for one year, and another 100 girls did not (to serve as the control group). Girls receiving supplementation daily for one year had significantly higher percentage increase in hip bone mass compared with the control group. The mean percentage increase of bone mass at various sites of the hip ranged from 2.7% to 3.8% among the supplementation group, while that for the control group was 1.6% to 2.6%. The difference between the supplementation and control group ranged from 45% to 113%. The data indicates that calcium-fortified soymilk intake can be an effective way of building up healthy bone in adolescent girls.

Dr. Karine So, Clinical Officer of the Centre of Research and Promotion of Women's Health, School of Public Health of the CUHK, stated that 70% of our bone is calcium. New bone is built everyday, and old bone decomposes. She pointed out that symptoms of osteoporosis include bone fraction, becoming short and hunch-back, but osteoporosis can also be symptom-less. Dr. So offered her recommendations, "It is the best for females to have hi-calcium food everyday, intake sufficient vitamin D, do more weight-bearing exercises, conduct regular checks on bone density and avoid drinking coffee, alcohol and strong tea."

Renowned soybean expert Dr. Mark Messina from the U.S. has always been keen on studying the relationship between soybean and health. In a public speech conducted earlier, he recommended a daily intake of 2 servings of soybean food such as 2 cups of soymilk.

Myths regarding Healthy Diet result in "Knowing" but not "Practicing."

The ESDlife survey also found that local females have very limited knowledge about proper calcium-intake, lowering cholesterol and maintaining digestive health. Apart from insufficient calcium-intake, only 4% of the respondents are able to maintain a daily diet of 2 servings or more of fruit. Meanwhile, only 10% of the females have 1.5 bowls or more of vegetables per day.

Ms. Flavia U, Chairman of the HKDA, stated, "Although local females are increasingly health-conscious and said that they are concerned about maintaining healthy diets, they are unable to achieve or put it into practice due to commonly held myths about healthy diets and generally limited knowledge of proper nutrition. The contradiction is: I know it, I want it, but I don't do it."

Hong Kong Females: Health Awareness Vs Actual Practice

In addition to unsatisfactory diets, most of the females are unable to live a healthy life in other aspects: 80% of the respondents work overtime; only 5% have regular exercise at satisfactory levels (i.e. 3 to 4 times a week, 30 minutes each time), 37% of them do not even exercise at all. Only 12% of them have sufficient sleep (8 hours per day) and avoid staying up late at night; while just 9% of them conduct regular body checks to ensure health.

Ms. Wendy Chu, Marketing Director, Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. said, "Calci-Plus believes that health is a daily habit. It is not difficult to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You just need to have the correct knowledge about a healthy diet, choose the best and most convenient way to cater to your daily habit, and keep it a regular practice, then you can easily incorporate a Healthy Diet into your life. Put knowledge into practice to keep healthy in a busy life. Through this survey, we now better understand the lifestyles of females today and are thus able to provide them with professional health knowledge and encourage them to maintain healthy lifestyles."

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About Calci-Plus

Calci-Plus is a hi-calcium, low fat, low sugar and cholesterol free soya drink produced and marketed under Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. Three variants - Soya Calcium, Soya Oat and Soya Fibre - are available to cater to the diversified needs of customers.

* << A prospective study of the effects of 1-year calcium-fortified soy milk supplementation on dietary calcium intake and bone health in Chinese adolescent girls aged 14 to 16 >> by Department of Community and Family Medicine and Food and Nutritional Sciences Program, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The calcium-fortified soymilk used for the study was Calci-Plus.