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The NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) and the EHESP French National School of Public Health jointly organised the Urban Planning for a Healthy Smart Nation on 11 April 2016, a workshop designed to integrate the two national programmes of “Healthy Living Master Plan” and the “Smart Nation Initiative”. The workshop drew over 100 participants, bringing together international, multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary people, including policy makers looking at the three sectors of health, transport and urban planning, public health practitioners, and academics. A/Prof Teo Yik Ying, co-organiser from the Saw SweeRead more

A study conducted by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and NUS Business School has found that office workers spend an average of seven hours every day sitting at their work stations, which may increase the risk of developing diabetes. The study, led by Assistant Professor Falk Mueller-Riemenschneider and researchers Dr Clarice Waters and Er Pei Ling from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health is the first in Asia to research healthcare risks associated with sitting for extended periods. The study on assessing and understanding sedentary behaviour in office-based

Projections by the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health have indicated that Singapore is expected to have 1 million diabetics by 2050, due to an ageing population and a rise in obesity. While people should keep fit and eat healthy to prevent onset of diabetes, experts say those who are considered at risk should be screened at an earlier age. Furthermore, 50 per cent of diabetics do not realise they have the disease as the symptoms are not obvious. But if left untreated, complications such as heart attacks,

24 March marks World Tuberculosis (TB) Day around the world, a day designed to build public awareness against the global epidemic of TB and efforts to eliminate this disease. TB may be thought of as a disease of the past in developed societies where newborn vaccinations are cheap and readily available, but the fight is far from over. TB kills 1.5 million people every year, more than any other infectious disease, writes Dr Mishal Khan from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Furthermore, Singapore is located at the heart

There are currently around 500,000 diabetics in Singapore in 2015. By 2050, we could see up to 1 million diabetics in Singapore, as a result of not only having an ageing population, but increasing rates of obesity. And obesity has been on the rise among those below 40, says Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. To combat obesity rates by encouraging healthy diets and increased physical activity, the Health Promotion Board has introduced campaigns such as the National Steps Challenge, which gathered

The NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health congratulates our alumna Dr Margaret Chan (Class of ’85, MSc Public Health and Occupational Medicine) on being featured as one of CNN’s 19 Most Important Women in the History of Science. She joins other famous women on the list such as Dame Jane Goodall and Marie Curie who have made significant and groundbreaking contributions to the field of science. Dr Chan is the current Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and one of the world’s leading figures in public health. She previously

Two years ago, the Health Promotion Board announced its aims to get smoking rates in Singapore down to 12% by 2020. Last December, four tobacco control proposals were raised for public consultation: raising the minimum age for smoking, banning additives in tobacco products, selling cigarettes in plain packaging, and enlarging graphic health warnings on packaging. Some of these measures have been implemented in other countries or cities – such as Brazil, which has banned flavoured tobacco since 2012, and Australia, which has put in place plain packaging for cigarettes since

With rising obesity and diabetes rates both globally and in Singapore, we need to keep our body weight in check to prevent risks of health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. And it’s important to take note of sugar content in fresh fruit juice, which is comparable to that of sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, said Associate Professor Rob van Dam from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Furthermore, the hidden risks in beverages are often overlooked as beverages can be quickly consumed and can lead

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, delivered a talk as part of the School’s Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue on Progress in Outbreak Preparedness – The Tasks Ahead on 22 February 2016. Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health commenced the session with the introduction of the Leadership Institute of Global Health Transformation (LIGHT), a think tank of the School, which will host the ongoing Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue and feature some of the School’s prominent

Increasing obesity rates in children and young adults are set to worsen already-high rates of diabetes in Singapore. Diabetes rates rose from 8.6% in Singaporean adults in 1992 to 11.3% in 2010, and would have gone up to 12.9% by last year, according to epidemiologists at the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Based on current projections, 34% of young people aged between 24 to 35 this year can expect to be diabetic by the time they are 65, says Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw