Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
A new study has found that children in Hong Kong have grown taller and heavier over the last 30 years thanks to factors such as improved nutrition and socioeconomic conditions.
The researchers also used their findings to create a new growth chart to track the physical development of youngsters. This chart will be introduced in public hospitals by the end of the year.
The study started its first phase in February 2019 and collected growth statistics from more than 21,000 children and adolescents across Hong Kong.
The study found that the median height of 18-year-olds had increased by about 2cm in 2020 compared with 1993 when the healthcare sector’s growth charts were last updated. The median is the number in the middle of a set of data.
The median height for boys was 172.5cm, compared to 170.9cm in 1993. The median height for girls was 160.2cm, an increase from 158.2cm. Researchers also found that children were generally heavier.
Tony Nelson, a professor at Chinese University’s department of paediatrics, said: “It’s presumed [that] improving nutrition, lifestyle and other social factors over decades will result in this increase in height.”
Quiz time
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Why have Hong Kong children become taller and heavier in the last 30 years?
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How will these findings be used in the city’s hospitals?
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How many children were part of the study?
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What was the increase in median height for 18-year-old boys and girls in Hong Kong?
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When was the last time that the city updated its growth charts?
Suggested answers
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because of better nutrition and improved socioeconomic conditions
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The findings have been used to create a new growth chart to track how kids are developing
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21,000
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2cm
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1993
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