News

Recently, the Ministry of Health announced new measures to reduce sugar consumption in Singapore: mandatory display of graded nutrition labels for high-sugar beverages, and a total advertising ban on drinks that receive the worst grade. These measures aim to curb demand, promote healthy lifestyles and push manufacturers to offer healthier options. Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying said rising consumption in Asia of food and drinks high in sugar is a “reflection of rapidly modernised societies”. Most people now work in offices, take no or little physical exercise, do not cook,Read more

Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. Used properly, they can save lives. But there is a growing problem of antibiotic resistance, which happens when bacteria change and become able to resist the effects of an antibiotic. To raise awareness about antibiotic resistance while engaging students in Singapore, the School jointly organised the Antibiotic Resistance Competition 2019 with Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore General Hospital and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering. Students could choose to write in any format or approach (fiction, scientific communication with references, etc.). The two themesRead more

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 as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, embarked on public health programme in partnership with the Health Environment Management Agency (HEMA) under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, Vietnam and Temasek Foundation. StartedRead 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 sugar. The second is a total advertising ban on those drinks that receive the lowest label grades. These measures aim to help consumers identify less healthy beverages and make more informed choices. “The World HealthRead more

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 nutrition and health in a modern, industrialised setting. At her award lecture, she presented insights from the GUSTO study, evidence of the relationships of critical nutrients in combination with dietary patterns for optimal maternal andRead more

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 their accomplishments and contributions to the PHOM field in Singapore, and served as role models to the PHOM community. A/Prof Wong has devoted more than 20 years of her career researching marginalised and vulnerable womenRead more

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 country. The President’s Science Award (Team) was presented to researchers from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), consisting of Professor Saw Seang Mei and three faculty from Duke-NUS Medical School’s Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences AcademicRead more

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 lowest on the label. Each beverage will be assigned a summary grade based on its nutritional quality, where sugar content will be the main but not the only determinant. Factors like the amount of fatRead more

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 a pneumonia which typically starts with nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath, and quickly degrades into a more serious condition where they require to a ventilator. Senior Research Fellow, Dr Yvette van der Eijk usesRead more

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 and the production and cultivation of the plant. With these global and regional shifts in mind, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health held a Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue (PHTLD) on 8 OctoberRead more

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 their consumption of sweet drinks, cakes and candies, and more than two-thirds choose wholemeal bread over white bread. But while most were aware of the impact of diabetes on their health, there are still gapsRead more

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, people are more likely to meet their needs for these micronutrients. However, the vast amount of food choices have also led to overconsumption of calories — in particular, highly processed foods that are high inRead more