Children Lack Exercise Due To Pandemic: Survey

Over 80 percent of parents and teachers of kindergarten and primary school students worry their children have been doing too little exercise since the pandemic led to a halt in full-time face-to-face teaching on campus, a survey has found.

The Hong Kong Primary Education Research Association, which conducted the survey in November and December, said on Tuesday that many parents and teachers believe that online physical education classes at home restricted children's space for sports activities.

The organisation further discovered that over half of the parents and teachers of primary school students found their children were unwilling to exercise as they had spent too much time on computers.

A woman surnamed Lok, who has a seven-year-old daughter, said her child's physical strength weakened considerably due to a lack of exercise during the pandemic.

"She always lacked strength and felt nervous when leaving our home. She also had a poor sense of balance and tripped easily as she walked," the mother recalled.

Ko Hiu-fung, a primary school physical education teacher, has also noticed a decline in the sports performance of his students.

"They always say they feel tired and they run out of breath when walking up the stairs even without wearing their schoolbags. Many students we come across also do not want to remove their masks to exercise because they are worried of being infected by Covid-19," he said.

Chan Shui-leung, head of the association, suggested the government provide a one-off financial subsidy for schools to improve their sports venues and purchase new equipment.

"Publishing booklets on healthy lifestyle can also help by allowing parents and their children to be more aware of the benefits of exercising," he added.