Hong Kong - The number of overweight children in Hong Kong has risen by 50 per cent in the past 15 years as youngsters exercise less and eat unhealthily, according to a survey released Thursday.

Ten per cent of children were overweight in 1993 but the figure has risen to 15 per cent, or more than one in seven by 2008, the study by Hong Kong's Chinese University said.

Researchers studied nearly 15,000 children aged six to 18 in the city of 6.9 million and found youngsters increasingly skip breakfast, eat in restaurants and sleep in late.

They also found children ate more and walked and exercised less compared to children from previous generations who had less money and a less comprehensive public transport network.

The Chinese University study mirrors other recent surveys which have found increasing levels of obesity among Hong Kong youngsters.

Children are more inclined to watch TV and spend time on the internet rather than play outdoors while diets have switched from rice-based dishes to Western-style fast food, the survey found. (dpa)