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Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has declared a ‘war on diabetes’, citing a Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health study which estimated the total economic burden of diabetes for working aged adults in Singapore at more than a billion dollars a year. Of the more than 400,000 diabetics today, one in three do not even know they have the disease, and of those who know, one in three have poor control, added Minister Gan. “The long-term cost of diabetes, taking into account the psychosocial costs, is much more thanRead more

China announced its “Made in China 2025” manufacturing strategy in May 2015, which places the biomedical and high-performing medical instruments sector as one of China’s pillar industries. China could draw lessons from Singapore’s experience over the last decade, when the Singapore government began investing substantially in biomedical research since 2000. 10 years on, Singapore has since shifted its focus from basic biomedical research to clinical translational research, focusing on health outcomes and emphasis on disease prevention in the population. The current major population health threat/challenge is not infectious diseases butRead more

The number of teenage boys who have visited prostitutes is on the rise, with the key reasons being never having had a girlfriend, or one who is sexually active, and watching pornography frequently, according to the first study here on teens who have paid for sex. During interviews conducted with 300 teens who visited the Department of Sexually Transmitted Infections Control (DSC) Clinic, the study found that 2 in 5 teenage boys surveyed had paid for sex. This jump in the proportion of teens who have visited prostitutes is significant, says Associate ProfessorRead more

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-basedRead more

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,Read more

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 heartRead more

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 gatheredRead more

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 previouslyRead more

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 sinceRead more

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 leadRead more

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 prominentRead more