MOH, SAF dropped the ball in War against Diabetes Mellitus.
Crump C, Sundquist J, Winkleby MA, Sieh W, Sundquist K. Physical Fitness Among Swedish Military Conscripts and Long-Term Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. ;164:577–584. doi: 10.7326/M15-2002 a study from Sweden showed "Overall, the combination of low aerobic capacity and muscle strength was associated with a 3-fold risk for type 2 DM ... These associations were seen even among men with normal body mass index." http://annals.org/aim/article-abstr...dish-military-conscripts-long-term-risk-type#
How come Singapore MOH and SAF didn't do a similar, equavalent or competing study with the >50 years of medical screening and IPPT results over the years?
Is healthcare just about fire-fighting; what about fire prevention?
So many regulars in SAF, all have to do IPPT and older ones are on pension scheme, all the way from regular storeman to leutenant general (some are almost centenniarians now if they with SMF (Singapore Military Forces), the predecessor of SAF in 1961. So there would be many SAF regulars under the civil service pension scheme with comprehensive medical benefits upon retirement (civil service card):
During their time in SAF, they would have had to undergo annual per IPPT health screening tests and take IPPT annually to satisfy rank promotion and salary bonus criteria. After retirement, they would mostly patronize public hospitals where all treatment and consultation would be FOC because of their government servant pension scheme.
Also, it can be confidently said that MOH and SAF has ample medical and fitness records of our servicemen and also many NSmen (Singaporeans who were from early batches of NSmen who are Merdeka generation born after 1949) who use public health service whose medical records are contained within MOH and SAF data banks.
MOH and SAF can publish correlation study results for medical screening test results/ fitness trend etc vs future T2 Diabetes Mellitus, cancer, heart disease incidence and even total quantum of healthcare costs incurred/ paid for by government pensions scheme (corrected for ward class) or subsidies used. Such studies would be even more instructive than the Sweden conscrips fitness vs diabetes study because the Swedish study only used enlistment fitness but SAF can use the IPPT results trend and annual IPPT FFI medical screening tests throughout employment or NS to arrive at a more precise study outcome.
This would better direct MOH/HPB healthy lifestyle policies towards empowering citizens to achieve the best fitness KPI as currently defined as healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, healthy percentage body fat and perhaps good aerobic endurance and good strength test scores.
% body fat, laboratory blood tests results and IPPT tests results are a more dependable and accurate assessment of an individuals efforts at practicing healthy lifestyle rather than pompous and flippant daily step and heart rate counts which are inflexible (tracker cannot be used in swimming pool; exercise for 30 mins each for 4 days is healthier than exercise for exercise for 60 mins each on three alternate days), easy to fake:
https://forums.fuckwarezone.com.sg/...racker-part-2-a-5939803-51.html#post118037986
Buy fr Lazada: Steps Counter Generator for [Smart Watch] [Mobile Phone] [Activity Tracker] Automatic Phone Shaker, Steps Clocker, Phone Rocker, Brush Step - Compatible with Apple Health Google Fit Samsung Heath AIA Vitality
The fantastic result:
MOH also has to pour much more funds into preventive healthcare than it presently does now:
“If you look around, our investments in health promotion and diseases prevention, I think... it is actually significantly lower than the amount of money we spend on treating diseases,” he (Minister Gan Kim Yong) said.
: Due to a lack of "holistic approach towards health promotion, taking into account how can we empower consumers so that they make the right choice" Empower consumers with holistic approach to healthcare: Gan Kim Yong To address the challenges of non-communicable diseases, Singapore needs to move upstream and find ways to keep the population healthy, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the Ministerial Meeting on Universal Health Coverage TODAY (11 Feb 2015).http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/empower-consumers-holistic-approach-healthcare-gan-kim-yong
MOH should thus avoid squandering too much money on pompous and flippant lucky draw prizes for step counts and instead focus on precise KPI to reduce the number of diabetics and consequently reduce the healthcare costs consumption by giving proven and sustainable incentives to keep people fit.
MOH/HPB are way behind the curve in improving population health and need to undergo significant reforms if the war against diabetes is to be won.
====================
Week's Top Letter #2: Better education will boost efforts to fight diabetes
PUBLISHED: DEC 14, 2018, 11:13 PM SGT
Given the medical and economic costs associated with diabetes - and the alarming statistic that one in four Singaporeans already has diabetes or is at high risk of contracting it - few would disagree with the proposals by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to take tougher actions (War on diabetes will have effect on 'innocent' bystanders; Dec 6).
These include banning and taxing high sugar drinks, disallowing their advertisements, or stipulating prominent labels on them.
Yet absent from the discourse is an evaluation and communication of how these proposals and their effects may vary based either on Ministry of Health (MOH) projections or case studies from abroad. Other considerations are the effectiveness of past and ongoing campaigns to increase awareness of excessive sugar consumption and of diabetes, and the persistence of these campaigns in the future.
In the context of a public consultation exercise, the perceptions of the Singaporean public are likely to be shaped by their past beliefs or habits they grew up with, or based on what is most convenient to their personal interests as opposed to that of the collective.
It should be noted that these may not necessarily be grounded in facts.
Hence, teasing out the differences between both sides and deciding on the policy, as a result, will be fraught with difficulties.
This is compounded by the observation that pre-packaged sugar-sweetened drinks are not the only source of high-sugar consumption, and any attempt to extend taxation or regulation to the other sources would not be as straightforward.
The potential consensus lies in the acknowledgement of the importance of awareness or education programmes to make Singaporeans not only more cognisant of diabetes and the concerns around sugar consumption, but also to nudge them to make more active decisions for themselves.
A useful starting point would be to find out the demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds of those living with pre-diabetes or diabetes, together with the lifestyle habits and activities which could be correlated with the disease.
Subsequent research questions could include an understanding of these people's daily dietary patterns and what they think about the campaigns launched by MOH or other public health agencies, to further improve the messages and their delivery.
Kwan Jin Yao
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/...ducation-will-boost-efforts-to-fight-diabetes
Crump C, Sundquist J, Winkleby MA, Sieh W, Sundquist K. Physical Fitness Among Swedish Military Conscripts and Long-Term Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. ;164:577–584. doi: 10.7326/M15-2002 a study from Sweden showed "Overall, the combination of low aerobic capacity and muscle strength was associated with a 3-fold risk for type 2 DM ... These associations were seen even among men with normal body mass index." http://annals.org/aim/article-abstr...dish-military-conscripts-long-term-risk-type#
How come Singapore MOH and SAF didn't do a similar, equavalent or competing study with the >50 years of medical screening and IPPT results over the years?
Is healthcare just about fire-fighting; what about fire prevention?
So many regulars in SAF, all have to do IPPT and older ones are on pension scheme, all the way from regular storeman to leutenant general (some are almost centenniarians now if they with SMF (Singapore Military Forces), the predecessor of SAF in 1961. So there would be many SAF regulars under the civil service pension scheme with comprehensive medical benefits upon retirement (civil service card):
During their time in SAF, they would have had to undergo annual per IPPT health screening tests and take IPPT annually to satisfy rank promotion and salary bonus criteria. After retirement, they would mostly patronize public hospitals where all treatment and consultation would be FOC because of their government servant pension scheme.
Also, it can be confidently said that MOH and SAF has ample medical and fitness records of our servicemen and also many NSmen (Singaporeans who were from early batches of NSmen who are Merdeka generation born after 1949) who use public health service whose medical records are contained within MOH and SAF data banks.
MOH and SAF can publish correlation study results for medical screening test results/ fitness trend etc vs future T2 Diabetes Mellitus, cancer, heart disease incidence and even total quantum of healthcare costs incurred/ paid for by government pensions scheme (corrected for ward class) or subsidies used. Such studies would be even more instructive than the Sweden conscrips fitness vs diabetes study because the Swedish study only used enlistment fitness but SAF can use the IPPT results trend and annual IPPT FFI medical screening tests throughout employment or NS to arrive at a more precise study outcome.
This would better direct MOH/HPB healthy lifestyle policies towards empowering citizens to achieve the best fitness KPI as currently defined as healthy blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, healthy percentage body fat and perhaps good aerobic endurance and good strength test scores.
% body fat, laboratory blood tests results and IPPT tests results are a more dependable and accurate assessment of an individuals efforts at practicing healthy lifestyle rather than pompous and flippant daily step and heart rate counts which are inflexible (tracker cannot be used in swimming pool; exercise for 30 mins each for 4 days is healthier than exercise for exercise for 60 mins each on three alternate days), easy to fake:
Buy fr Lazada: Steps Counter Generator for [Smart Watch] [Mobile Phone] [Activity Tracker] Automatic Phone Shaker, Steps Clocker, Phone Rocker, Brush Step - Compatible with Apple Health Google Fit Samsung Heath AIA Vitality
The fantastic result:
MOH also has to pour much more funds into preventive healthcare than it presently does now:
“If you look around, our investments in health promotion and diseases prevention, I think... it is actually significantly lower than the amount of money we spend on treating diseases,” he (Minister Gan Kim Yong) said.
: Due to a lack of "holistic approach towards health promotion, taking into account how can we empower consumers so that they make the right choice" Empower consumers with holistic approach to healthcare: Gan Kim Yong To address the challenges of non-communicable diseases, Singapore needs to move upstream and find ways to keep the population healthy, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong at the Ministerial Meeting on Universal Health Coverage TODAY (11 Feb 2015).http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/empower-consumers-holistic-approach-healthcare-gan-kim-yong
MOH should thus avoid squandering too much money on pompous and flippant lucky draw prizes for step counts and instead focus on precise KPI to reduce the number of diabetics and consequently reduce the healthcare costs consumption by giving proven and sustainable incentives to keep people fit.
MOH/HPB are way behind the curve in improving population health and need to undergo significant reforms if the war against diabetes is to be won.
====================
Week's Top Letter #2: Better education will boost efforts to fight diabetes
PUBLISHED: DEC 14, 2018, 11:13 PM SGT
Given the medical and economic costs associated with diabetes - and the alarming statistic that one in four Singaporeans already has diabetes or is at high risk of contracting it - few would disagree with the proposals by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to take tougher actions (War on diabetes will have effect on 'innocent' bystanders; Dec 6).
These include banning and taxing high sugar drinks, disallowing their advertisements, or stipulating prominent labels on them.
Yet absent from the discourse is an evaluation and communication of how these proposals and their effects may vary based either on Ministry of Health (MOH) projections or case studies from abroad. Other considerations are the effectiveness of past and ongoing campaigns to increase awareness of excessive sugar consumption and of diabetes, and the persistence of these campaigns in the future.
In the context of a public consultation exercise, the perceptions of the Singaporean public are likely to be shaped by their past beliefs or habits they grew up with, or based on what is most convenient to their personal interests as opposed to that of the collective.
It should be noted that these may not necessarily be grounded in facts.
Hence, teasing out the differences between both sides and deciding on the policy, as a result, will be fraught with difficulties.
This is compounded by the observation that pre-packaged sugar-sweetened drinks are not the only source of high-sugar consumption, and any attempt to extend taxation or regulation to the other sources would not be as straightforward.
The potential consensus lies in the acknowledgement of the importance of awareness or education programmes to make Singaporeans not only more cognisant of diabetes and the concerns around sugar consumption, but also to nudge them to make more active decisions for themselves.
A useful starting point would be to find out the demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds of those living with pre-diabetes or diabetes, together with the lifestyle habits and activities which could be correlated with the disease.
Subsequent research questions could include an understanding of these people's daily dietary patterns and what they think about the campaigns launched by MOH or other public health agencies, to further improve the messages and their delivery.
Kwan Jin Yao
https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/...ducation-will-boost-efforts-to-fight-diabetes
