"Announcement of the Findings on High Cholesterol Awareness Press Conference" was held by the Hong Kong College of Cardiology on 2 February 2021.
Hong Kong College of Cardiology (HKCC) commissioned the Centre for the Advancement of Social Sciences Research (CASR) of Hong Kong Baptist University to conduct a telephone survey from mid-November to early December 2020. The telephone survey targeted the Cantonese-speaking general public aged 18 or above to investigate their high cholesterol awareness and behaviour. In total, 823 citizens were successfully interviewed. The survey results revealed that the general public were aware that "lack of exercise" (79.3%), "obesity" (74.4%) and "intake of trans fats" (64.5%) were major causes of high cholesterol. Also, about 80% of the respondents expressed that "Coronary Heart Diseases" (79.5%) and "stroke" (78.4%) were the complications of high cholesterol. The majority of respondents were aware that "low salt" (92.5%), "low sugar" (90.8%) and "low fat" (82.7%) were the elements of healthy diet. Though a great number of respondents knew that "healthy diet" (90.0%) and "frequent exercising" (85.9%) could help stay away from high cholesterol, HKCC pointed out that only about forty percent of HK people do moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for at least 150 minutes regulary. And only twenty percent of HK people eat at least 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day.
In addition, it was found that about half of the respondents (47.3%) did not know people with hyperlipidemia could be asymptomatic. People may not check up or seek medical treatment because of unawareness. Over 35% of the respondents (36.9%) did not know that a healthy diet includes high fiber. And only half of the respondents (50.2%) knew that they should avoid the intake of trans fats. HKCC pointed out that the public awareness of high cholesterol needs to be improved.
Details of the survey:
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(Source of information and photo: Hong Kong College of Cardiology)
(February 2, 2021)