The move is in response to the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on physical activity and Chief Executive John Lee’s proposals to promote sports medicine and science in his Policy Address in October.
Under the plan, students would be required to participate in the promotion of health education at the primary healthcare level, on top of existing courses.
Clinical assistant professor Amy Ng says the move will remind students and the public alike of the importance of exercise.
“We do plan for students to actually need to go out into the community and serve society with respect to exercise,” she said.
“One of the things we are planning is to have students lead an exercise programme at district health centres.
“We want them to actually participate and have some contributions.”
The faculty said students could also attend orthopaedic and traumatology practicums at the university’s Shenzhen Hospital.
Apart from strengthening the sports science component in its medicine programme, the faculty said the initiative also includes research projects that aims to enhance health levels among locals.
One of them focuses on incorporating physical activity into kindergarten curricula to improve cardiopulmonary function in wake of a finding that around 90 percent of students in Hong Kong had not attained physical activity level standards set by the World Health Organization.
