The Need for Healthier Lifestyle Campaigns to Prevent The Issue of Overweight and Obesity in Singapore

Did you know that Singapore is ranked the second-highest overweight country according to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at 32. 8 per cent by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014? As published in the World Health Organisation website, “worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. Statistics have shown that 1. 9 billion adults age 18 and older are overweight and of these over 650 million are obese. To break it down even further 39% of adults over 18 years of age are overweight from statistics taken in 2016 and 13% are obese. ”

As much as the terms obesity and overweight are interchangeable the definition of overweight is the Body Mass Index (BMI). A person with a BMI of 25-29. 9 is overweight but a person with the BMI over 30 is obese. However, we can rest assured that the issue of overweight and obesity is preventable through exercise, diet and the will and determination to shed the excessive weight.

With the rise of obesity in Singapore, the government noticed the need for health campaigns and together with the Health Promotion Board a campaign was launched in 1992 called the National Healthy Lifestyle Program. This campaign helped to promote healthy lifestyle not only physical but also social and mental wellbeing and it “spearheaded national strategies with the goal of controlling obesity through public education campaigns that focused on physical activity and healthy eating”.

The study conducted by Pietrobelli, A. , Agosti, M. , & the MeNu Group. (2017) found that excessive adipose tissue expansion may promote infant adipogenesis and infant rapid growth, both early markers of risk associated with childhood obesity. By not preventing obesity and taking action if one’s BMI is over 30, for adults, the physical health determinants can be and but are not limited to hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, extreme osteoarthritis, metabolic, inflammatory, stroke, asthma and many others.

While the physical factors have a role to play in an individual’s make up, environmental factors also contributes to obesity. Binge drinking, fast food or even eating out, intake of carbonated drinks with massive amounts of sugar and insufficient sleep are just some contributors to obesity in children and adults. Environmental factors have a part to play in how people become obese which includes a sedentary lifestyle, consumption of fast foods and high levels of sugary drinks, lack of sleep.

As the Straits Times reported on 20 June 2017, “Today, the average Singaporean is heavier and more likely to overeat. Even children here are putting on weight and, unsurprisingly, the biggest weight gain starts when people begin work. ” However, a more recent Straits Times article showed that “while adults are getting fitter children are becoming overweight”. While the numbers are showing a slight decrease in obesity among adults this should not discount the fact that obesity rate still remains at a high in Singapore.

Young adults or working adults, age 18 – 30 years old, tend to focus on making money, saving up for retirement, taking care of children, the elderly and thus rarely having time to take care of their own social, physical and mental health.

Knight & McNaught Framework of Wellbeing model has four levels: family, community and society and individual wellbeing. The wellbeing of an individual, interlinks with family, community and societal wellbeing. Individual wellbeing is self-care and it has an important part in life. It is where we react to life events, circumstances we find ourselves in, how we process events which happens in our careers, how financially stable we are, and how we connect with our inner being. Family and community wellbeing on the other hand focuses more on realms outside of the individual being. It looks at the positive and negative aspects in life and work satisfaction, how we interact with other individuals, activities which interest us among a few other things.

Family is where character is established. There is a whole world of support or lack of support in the sense of love, money, information and status. We cannot choose our birth family or whence we come from but we can always change our future. Individual, family and community wellbeing has a role to play in an individual’s weight loss journey, whether they believe it or not.

There are eight stages in Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and he believed it starts in childhood and continues till old age. Erikson’s theory eight stages as shown in the image below, gives the overview of the stages, psychosocial crisis, the basic virtue and age.

Stage one is where the infant relies on the caregiver to provide to their every need. They trust that the caregiver would provide to their every need but if their needs are not met mistrust will then seep in. Stage two is where the young child slowly becomes more independent as to make decisions for themselves etc. what they want to eat, what they want to do, basically having a mind of their own.

At stage three the child is inquisitive and in most cases they will be in preschool. It is here where they learn to be a leader by thinking of activities to do with their friends and as Erikson states it, taking the initiative. At this inquisitive stage, the child will be constantly asking questions and if parents brush the questions aside the child might feel guilt. The child is enrolled into public school in stage four where reading, writing and mathematics are taught. A teachers role is as equally important in this stage. Positive reinforcement from the teacher to the child for their accomplishment will have the child feeling competent on their abilities. On the other hand sometimes failure of some sort is necessary to avoid the child from getting too confidant. Stage five is where teenagers are figuring out their place in life, who they are, what they want to become and who they are in society.

Stage six where love and relationships are formed. Caring for a person other than a family member results in happiness whereas avoiding commitment and intimacy can result in loneliness and depression. Stage seven is where adults, ages 40 – 65 years old, tend to look out for the younger generations. Teaching them and imparting their knowledge in a sense caring. Stage eight is where retirement kicks in, enjoyment and reflection on life hits us.

The Singapore government has been working with the Health Promotion Board to promote healthier lifestyle and encouraging Singaporeans to exercise by providing free classes in community centres and even bringing classes to the workplace. HPB holds a range of activities such as the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem, Fitness At Work, i-RUN, Kaki Sports, Lost To Win, Quick HIIT Workout, Sundays the Park, and Sunrise in the City are just a few free activities aimed for working adults and is open to the public. An on-going campaign, National Steps Challenge, provides Singaporeans with a free activity steps tracker to hit a minimum of 10, 000 steps a day to gain points which can be redeemed into vouchers. By just taking part in any of these activities provided by HPB, the first step of the weight loss journey begins.

All the activities by Health Promotion Board are in group settings which means making friends and creating a support group is readily available for anyone to seize. The National Steps Challenge not only encourages people to start walking instead of taking buses and taking the stairs rather than the lift. It is a simple yet effective campaign. All it takes is to register for an activity tracker online and download the Healthy 365 app and start earning points which then can be redeemed for vouchers. It creates a supportive environment for participants among friends, colleagues, and neighbours. It connects people together.

By setting a target goal of 10, 000 steps daily, this gives the participant goals to achieve resulting is personal satisfaction.

Once the momentum of active living has slowly integrated into the participants’ life, they will start to realize that just by walking alone would not help them to have a healthier lifestyle. Diet has an important role as well. Their world will be open in countless dimensions to see that by with just exercise alone and no change in diet there will not be a huge difference in their life.

After all the five actions have been implemented in a person’s life, they will start to look at health services from a different standpoint. The 4th edition of the National Steps Challenge shows that this campaign has been successful. Singapore’s government and Health Promotion Board have done a very good job with campaigns in bringing healthy living to the masses in Singapore.

Stakeholders must realize that while all the campaigns that HPB is conducting, is not curable for medical problem but is however, a preventive measure.

Conclusion

It is up to the obese or overweight person to first decide for themselves to change the unhealthy lifestyle. Once that has been decided there are aplenty of help, programs, and activities available. So yes, campaigns for healthier lifestyle choices is still much needed. Exercise and healthy living choices is critical in Singapore where technology is readily available to everyone, making the time spent outdoors decrease compared to those the days where technology wasn’t as readily available.