Singapore has a diverse ethnic population comprising:

1

• Singapore has a diverse ethnic population
  comprising
  
• 75.6 Chinese
• 13.6 Malays
• 8.7 Indians and
• 2.1 other races
• From the National Health Survey (1998), it was
  shown that the Malay community has the highest
  prevalence of obesity, compared to other ethnic
  communities. In particular, a greater percentage
  of Malay females were obese compared to Malay
  males (23.7 vs 8.8).

Prevalence of Obesity among Singaporeans

• To provide a more comprehensive understanding of
  the determinants of health in the Malay community
  and identify the most appropriate means of
  reaching out to them, the Health Promotion Board
  (HPB) conducted the Malay Community Study.
• Some of the reasons for obesity identified by the
  Malay Community were
  
• Diet - The current Malay dietary practices were
  generally recognised as unhealthy as most Malay
  foods were either deep fried or used ingredients
  high in saturated fat such as coconut milk

Preferred Media Channels of Singaporeans

• Physical Activity - Lack of awareness on
  importance of exercise and lack of encouragement
  from husbands
  
• The study also established that the preferred
  media channels of the Malay Community were TV,
  radio and Malay newspapers. Real life testimonies
  to influence Malays in adopting pro-health
  behavioural changes and the use of entertainment,
  humour and famous celebrity personalities were
  important factors to reach out to the community.
  
• In addition, media consumption habits revealed
  that they prefer receiving information in their
  vernacular language compared to the English
  language.

• HPB developed a targeted public education
  campaign comprising
  
• Television programmes Gaya Sihat and Sajian
  fronted by celebrity chefs to educate the
  community on how to prepare traditional dishes
  with healthier ingredients
• Ragam Sihat radio programme to raise awareness
  on healthy eating
  
• Television infotainment programmes Rentak Sihat
  to provide Malay TV viewers tips on diet,
  nutrition, food preparation and simple exercises
  to keep fit and healthy
• Reality television programme Kilo 123 where
  celebrity Suhaimi Yusof underwent a process to
  lose

Reality TV Programme , Kilo 123
weight through adequate diets and simple
exercise, with his progress monitored over 3
months Recognising the importance of celebrity ro
le models to the community, popular TV
celebrities fronting these programmes were also
appointed to communicate health messages through
community and on-ground events such as Exercise
in the Park. HPB also introduced the
Kebayarobics exercise where Malay women wearing
tudungs and kebayas (Malay traditional costume)
can exercise together as a group as a form of
encouragement for one another. It has since been
adopted as a regular activity in some community
clubs and centres.
The above television programmes were generally
well received. For example, Gaya Sihat had an
average of 200,000 viewers per week while Kilo
123 had 65,000 viewers per week. The National
Health Survey (2004) results also showed that
obesity levels among the Malay female community
has dropped from 23.7 to 21.4.
2
Introduction
Chronic diseases are a significant cause of
illness and death in Singapore. Diabetes
mellitus, hypertension, lipid disorders (i.e.
high blood cholesterol) and stroke affect over 1
million Singaporeans. Early detection and
management can help delay and avoid the onset of
complications and reduce healthcare costs.
From 1 October 2006, the Ministry of Health of
Singapore announced that patients can choose to
use Medisave to pay for part of their outpatient
expenses under the Chronic Disease Management
Programme (CDMP). The use of Medisave will help
reduce out-of-pocket cash payment for outpatient
bills, making them more affordable to patients.
Patients will also be placed on a structured hea
lthcare programme to better manage their chronic
disease conditions to avoid downstream
complications and hospitalisations. Each patient
on the CDMP would receive a health booklet
(available in four different languages) which
will allow them to keep a record of their
conditions, increase their knowledge of the
diseases as well as encourage them to keep to one
family doctor and follow his advice.

• Targeting the elderly population and their
  care-givers, the Health Promotion Board (HPB)
  launched an extensive marketing campaign
  comprising
• Television commercials
• Radio advertisements ( in dialect vernacular
  languages)
  
• Print and magazine advertisements
• Dissemination of health education resources
• Outreach activities in the community
• A comprehensive chronic disease microsite was
  also set up for the internet savvy to obtain
  information on the chronic diseases as well as
  locate clinics offering the programme.

Community Outreach Event
As of April 2007, 716 out of 1,200 private
clinics have participated in the CDMP. With
active promotion of the programme through
publicity initiatives and providing incentives
(less cash upfront) for the patients to join the
programme, it has seen initial success to help
chronic disease patients take charge of their
health and manage their conditions to lead a
fulfiling life.
Medisave is a national medical savings scheme
which helps individuals put aside part of their
income into their Medisave Accounts to meet their
future personal or immediate family's
hospitalisation, day surgery and certain
outpatient expenses.