People should incorporate stair climbing into their daily life if possible, the Department of Health says, adding the stair-climbing pilot programme may be extended to more public housing estates and other public places.

Speaking at a press conference today, Assistant Director of Health Dr Regina Ching encouraged people to do 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week to benefit their health.

"Thirty minutes a day on physical activity means only 2% of our time. We can do several periods of exercise which add up to 30 minutes in a day, but each should last for at least 10 minutes. Or we can accumulate a total of 3.5 hours in a week for beneficial purposes," she said.

Stair climbing good for health 

Dr Ching said stair climbing everyday is good for people's health and it provides the following benefits:

* enhances heart and lung function and improves blood circulation;

* reduces the risk of developing coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes or colon cancer;

* increases body resistance, reduces the chance of contracting diseases and increases efficiency at work;

* leads to healthy bones and lowers the risk of osteoporosis;

* strengthens muscles; and

* decreases body fat and controls body weight.

Last year, a stair-climbing pilot programme was launched to promote the use of stairs in 36 blocks at eight public housing estates. An evaluation study showed that the overall stair use in these estates increased 20% after the programme.

In view of the favourable results, the department plans to extend the programme to more housing estates and is exploring the possibility of extending the programme to other public venues such as libraries and sports centres.

Community groups are also encouraged to promote stair use in their own settings. An information kit and a website are available for this purpose.