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As a rapidly developing country, Vietnam is increasingly confronting challenges such as an ageing population and a rising chronic disease burden that impact on national healthcare. Worker health and safety are also coming to the fore as critical public health issues that need to be addressed. To this end, the School, in its capacity asRead more

Singapore may be the first country to impose a total advertising ban on beverages that are considered high in sugar. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Health introduced two strategies as part of the War on Diabetes. The first is a mandatory display of front-of-pack nutrition summary labels for pre-packed beverages that are high in

Assistant Professor Mary Chong was conferred the 2019 Nutrition Society Silver Medal Award for her research on ‘Influences of the perinatal diet on maternal and child health in an obese world’. Using data from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study, Dr Chong illustrated the importance and urgency of maternal and child

Congratulations to Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian, who was conferred the College of Public Health and Occupational Physicians (CPHOP) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th Singapore Public Health and Occupational Medicine Conference on 15–16 October. The CPHOP Lifetime Achievement Award honours exceptional public health and occupational medicine (PHOM) leaders and visionaries who have distinguished themselves through

The annual President’s Science and Technology Awards (PSTA) recognise the brightest talent in the fields of science and innovation, and how they are making a difference to Singapore. The PSTA is the highest honours bestowed upon research scientists and engineers in Singapore whose work have resulted in significant scientific, technological or economic benefits for the

The Ministry of Health introduced two new strategies on 10 Oct as part of the War on Diabetes. Pre-packaged beverages that are high in sugar will need to display a new colour-coded front-of-pack nutrition summary label. A total ban on advertising will also be imposed on beverages that are deemed the unhealthiest and graded the

Recently, US health officials reported 18 deaths due to a mysterious lung illness linked to e-cigarettes and other vaping products, and said the number of confirmed and probable cases of the condition now exceeds 1,000. In an estimated 80 per cent of cases, they were vaping mixtures of substances, including marijuana oil. The mystery illnesses resemble

There are a growing number of jurisdictions and countries amending their legislation and allowing medicinal cannabis. There is an increasingly high level of variation of medicinal cannabis policies across countries and a lack of an international consensus on how to proceed. This topic has a specific regional focus at present, with Thailand legalising medical cannabis

Singaporeans are becoming more aware of healthy eating habits, but many are not meeting the recommended weekly exercise standards. In a study recently published in The Annals, over 800 non-diabetic Singaporeans aged 30–64 were surveyed on their knowledge, attitudes and lifestyle practices in preventing Type 2 Diabetes. Nearly 90 per cent of respondents would reduce

Micronutrient deficiencies were commonplace in the past, with the term ‘malnourished’ calling to mind images of underweight children in developing countries. But despite societies around the world getting more affluent, problems related to lack of essential nutrients in our diet are creeping back, says Assistant Professor Mary Chong. With food now more abundant and affordable,