Latest figures released by the Health Department show 19.4 per cent of Hong Kong's more than 400,000 schoolchildren are overweight, an increase of 0.7 percentage points over fiscal year 2004-05. A senior official said on Tuesday this annual tally had gained an alarming three percentage points in the past seven years.

The government report also cites findings by British researchers as indicating that people who eat too much meat are likelier to be hot-tempered than those who maintain a balanced diet.

Also, schoolchildren with weight problems tend to be harder to teach, some local teachers agree, saying they have found their students less edgy and quicker to learn since "health meals" were offered by catering companies, according to a government advisory issued in August.

Oriental Daily News