News

Singapore could hit obesity rates of 15 per cent in just seven years, according to the Health Promotion Board’s latest data on Singaporeans and obesity. The average Singaporean is getting heavier and more likely to overeat, with more young children putting on more weight. This population-wide shift toward obesity, if uncurbed, could increase the risks of diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke. Is the Body Mass Index (BMI) an accurate measure of body fat or health? What should be done to change our dietary habits? How can weRead more

A study led by Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian has shown that young women who have been sexually abused are a lot more likely to become sexually active, while young men who watch pornography are six times more likely to have sex at an early age. The study which was published in Pediatrics, a medical journal, in 2009, was also co-authored by Adjunct Professor Roy Chan, Professor David Koh, Dr Tan Hiok Hee, Dr Lim Fong Seng, Dr Shanta Emmanuel and Professor George Bishop. Assoc Prof Wong noted that a significantly higherRead more

Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) faculty and researchers have once again placed the School as the regional leader in public health education, training and research. The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Singapore Chapter announced the result of the Society’s 2017-2018 elections with two staff from SSHSPH taking on leadership roles. The recent election marks a historic time with representation from SSHSPH faculty in the past, current and future presidential leadership role for ISPOR Singapore, and showcases our preeminent faculty members. The School congratulates Dr JohnRead more

Dengue is a disease that knows no boundaries and is estimated to affect about 390 million people every year, mostly in ASEAN and the Western Pacific regions. The figures might be underestimated as some countries do not have the necessary equipment and tools to detect the disease. As this year’s ASEAN Dengue Day theme suggests, there needs to be a “United Fight against Dengue”, where countries around the region should work together to reduce the dengue burden. There is a need for communities within countries to be more aware andRead more

Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) Associate Professor Chia Sin Eng attended the recently concluded  5th ASEAN Diagnostic Criteria for Occupational Diseases (ADCOD) on 5th to 7th June in Ayutthaya, Thailand.  The meeting was attended by several of our School’s alumni including Singapore’s representative, Dr Kenneth Choy, Deputy Director of Department Safety and Health, Ministry of Manpower; Dr Alice Lai, Head of Division of Occupational Health, Ministry of Health, Brunei Darussalam; Professor Than Htut, Occupational Medicine Professor at the University of Public Health in Yangon, Myanmar. In the opening speech by Dr Theerapol Topanthanont, Director General ofRead more

Obesity is fast becoming a worrying issue in the Southeast Asia (SEA) as rising incomes, urbanisation and globalisation made more food choices, including many less healthy ones, accessible to people in the ASEAN region. An Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)  report commissioned by the Asia Roundtable on Food Innovation for Improved Nutrition titled “Tackling obesity in ASEAN: Prevalence, impact, and guidance on interventions” stated that obesity is reducing productive years of an individual within an average of about six to 10 years. Obesity is linked to many chronic diseases such asRead more

As Singapore records the highest median age, longest life expectancy rates and lowest fertility rates in the region, the population is faced with the challenges of adapting itself with a rapidly ageing population. As with the increase in the onset of chronic diseases like diabetes, the population would have to find ways to manage chronic diseases and the complications that arise from it for a longer period of time in their later years. As this trend is set to continue well into the future, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH)Read more

Recent studies have shown that the Asia Pacific region is home to about 30% of the world’s smokers. Singapore’s numbers remain at about 13.3%.  There is more that can be done to deter the youth from picking up the bad habit of smoking. In conjunction with World No Tobacco Day today, 31 May 2017, Associate Professor Joanne Yoong expressed her opinions on the issue of smoking among the youth in the society on First Look Asia. She states that the youth who do pick up smoking are most likely doing so dueRead more

When purchasing products such as hand sanitizers or soap, most consumers would prefer to purchase “anti-bacterial” products claiming to “kill XX% of germs”. However, anti-bacterial products may not be the safest choice and the conventional use of soap and water to wash your hands would do a better job. It would depend on the methods of hand washing, rather than the products, to wash and disinfect one’s hands thoroughly. Given the recent ban on most anti-bacterial soaps and body washes by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on theRead more

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and esteemed SSHSPH alumna, will be officially stepping down after serving the Organization for 10 years. Her successor Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia will take office on 1 July 2017. WHO has also published a Ten Years in Public Health 2007 – 2017 report chronicling the evolution of global public health over the past decade during Dr Chan’s tenure. The report opens with a letter from her reflecting on the highlights and challenges over the last 10 years, and lessons learnt for building a better,Read more

The Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) and the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health recently hosted the “Diabetes Prevention in Asian Populations” workshop at the Clinical Sciences Building of the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine on 25 May 2017. The workshop was co-chaired by LKCMedicine Dean Professor James Best and Dean of SSHSPH Prof Chia Kee Seng. Keynote presentations during the workshop included presentations by Prof Juliana Chan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prof Brian Oldenburg from the University of Melbourne and Prof NihalRead more

On 19th May 2017, the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health held its first ever fundraising dinner in support of the SSHSPH Help-A-Student Fund at the Della and Seng Gee Guild Hall, NUSS Kent Ridge Guild House. The “Celebrating Public Health” event saw a capacity attendance of over 300 guests, including public health pioneers, donors, industry partners, alumni, students, staff as well as former colleagues of the School. It was truly an evening of celebration of Singapore’s public health achievements, reunions of colleagues and peers, appreciation of Singapore’s publicRead more