The pandemic has changed people's exercise and eating habits, causing a third of them to gain weight by three kilograms or more, a survey has found.
Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society, a non-profit organization, interviewed 1,094 people in November and found 67 percent had changed their eating habits.
Sixty-four percent said they ordered takeaways more often, and about 25 percent ate more than usual while dining out.
Half of respondents also reduced their exercise levels by around 60 percent during times when Covid-19 risks were considered to be high. That meant rather than exercising two days a week many were doing just a bit on one day.
But more than half of respondents then felt a need to lose weight so they resumed their exercise habits.
Another 15 percent did not bother because of fear of the virus or a lack of motivation after a long halt.
So people have been gaining weight.
Compared to pre-pandemic times, 35 percent of women were heavier by 3.6 kilograms on average while 31 percent of men put on an an average 4.2 kg.
The data sent shudders through the society.
Takeaway food can lead to an excessive fat intake that is associated with prostate cancer, while less exercise puts people at an 82-percent higher risk of cancer mortality.
It increases the chances of myeloma and ovarian cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
"While people are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the cancer risk resulting from different anti-pandemic action should be balanced out," said Rico Liu King-yin, chairman of the society's cancer education committee.
