There are obviously beneficial effects
to exercise, but there are harmful
effects for exposure to air pollution.”
Playing in urban parks makes
little difference. “The residential
locations in Hong Kong are densely
packed, so the positive impact of the
country parks are not felt,” explains
Professor Lai. “There is a lot of
overseas literature that finds proximity
or distance from highways and traffic
is very important... the closer you are
the more exposure.”
Moving children’s activities from
high-traffic areas to the trails of the
country parks may help, but it’s not
enough, says Professor Hedley. “The
point is, people need to understand
that they’re making a compromise…
the ambient levels of air pollution
are extremely high across the whole
territory.”
As a compromise, Professor Lai
takes his children to play indoor
sports, like badminton and table
tennis.
Yet, he admits: “Honestly? It’s
better for children to grow up in areas
where the pollution is not so bad and
move to Hong Kong when they’re
older.” As that’s not possible for many,
Professor Yu suggests regular holidays
to places with better quality air may
give a child’s lungs a break.
But for those who don’t have
the luxury of escaping the city, the
message is clear: reduce a child’s
exposure to high-risk levels of air
pollution, particularly when playing.
Hong Kong issues the Air Quality
Health Index (AQHI) to indicate the
state of the city’s air. The index is
based on the cumulative health risk
attributable to the three-hour moving
average concentrations of high-risk air
pollutants.
According to a letter issued by
the Education Bureau to all schools
in late 2013, children should reduce
their level of activity when the AQHI
measures 7 (“serious”) and above. By
AQHI 8, activities should be reduced
to a minimum; in AQHI 10+, children
should be kept indoors.
However, Sum Yin Kwong, CEO
of Hong Kong’s Clean Air Network
(CAN), suggests parents should also
keep an eye on the WHO standards,
and make their own decisions. “Hong
Kong citizens have no way of knowing
how serious their level of exposure is
every day – the Government’s data is
not easily accessible and Hong Kong’s
air quality standards, called Air
Quality Objectives (AQOs), are over
25 years old and are severely lax and
outdated.” CAN issued an air quality-
mapping app, “HKCAN”, last year,
which compares the city’s air pollution
to the WHO standards and provides
a better overall picture than just the
AQHI.
Keeping your child healthy and
nourishing them with a good diet
will help to equip them with a strong
immunity to battle the effects that some
air pollutants have on the body – and
life in general. “We can’t say definitely
that there is a connection with stronger
immunity and [the ability to cope
better with] exposure to air pollution –
pollution is pollution – but it may help,
of course, if your child is healthy and
strong,” says Professor Yu.
Summer 2014
45
