College of Medicine Building 16 College Road Singapore 169854 Tel : 6325 9220 Fax : 6224 1677 www.moh.gov.sg HEALTHY LIVING Health Promotion Board 3 Second Hospital Avenue, Singapore 168937 Tel : 6435 3500 MASTER PLAN Fax : 6438 3848 www.hpb.gov.sg YONG TAU FOO FRUITS EAT YOUR WAY TO HEALTH OPEN HEALTHY LIVING EVERY DAY © April 2014 Ministry of Health and Health Promotion Board CONTENTS 01 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 02 Vision 2020 – Healthy Living Every Day: Making the Connections 02 Healthy Living – Listening To You 04 Healthy Living – You Have A Part To Play 05 CHAPTER 1: SINGAPORE’S HEALTH AND 07 SOCIAL LANDSCAPE Healthy Living – What Does Living Longer Mean To Us? 07 Healthy Living – Challenges 09 Building On Current Health Promotion Efforts 11 CHAPTER 2: OUR DESIRE FOR NATURAL AND 14 EFFORTLESS HEALTHY LIVING OPTIONS Healthy Living – Hearing From You 14 You Spoke, We Listened 15 Healthy Living – What Does It All Mean? 19 CHAPTER 3: MAKING HEALTHY LIVING 20 NATURAL AND EFFORTLESS Healthy Living – The Action Plan 22 OUTCOMES 40 CONCLUSION 41 Annex A: MEMBERS OF THE HEALTHY LIVING 42 MASTER PLAN TASKFORCE 02 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 03 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Vision 2020 – Healthy Living Every Day: Making the Connections 3 Together, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Health Promotion Board 1 In 2012-2013, many of us were invited to take part in the Our Singapore (HPB) have brought health promotion to a new level in Singapore. Even Conversation (OSC) to share views on the Singapore we envision in 2030. then, with an evolving landscape, there is a continuing need to review Amongst the issues raised, health care surfaced as one of the top concerns. what we are doing in order to harness new opportunities and deal with Thankfully, many realised that most of these concerns could be mitigated emerging challenges. And we can only achieve this if we move forward by leading a healthy lifestyle. together as a community. 4 The Healthy Living Master Plan Taskforce was formed in September 2012 2 Over the years, due to the improvement of our BENEFITS OF healthcare system, Singaporeans are living longer. HEALTHY LIVING to look into making healthy living accessible, natural, and effortless for In fact, Singaporeans are amongst the longest all Singaporeans. This whole-of-government and whole-of-society effort living and healthiest in the world. Moving forward, is chaired by Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, with the next question to ask really is, “Are we also Enjoy a representatives from various public agencies and the community (See enjoying a better quality of life with this longer better quality Annex A for members of the Taskforce). lifespan?” Many of us recognise the importance of life of good health for the sake of family and self. We aspire to lead healthy lives and are even willing to KEY THEMES FROM THE CONSULtatiON Be able to make adjustments to our lifestyles for better health pursue our goals • Accessibility and availability of health-promoting facilities and and fitness. That is why the adoption of healthy and dreams spaces are important in motivating healthy living. lifestyles becomes an important dimension in • Social and family support are deemed as strong motivating forces ensuring that we continue to enjoy a good quality Be able to that will influence positive behaviour change. of life as we age. spend time with • Singaporeans want the assurance that healthier options are our loved ones affordable and within reach of everyone. 04 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 05 Healthy Living – Listening To You Healthy Living – You Have A Part To Play 5 In crafting a Healthy Living Master Plan (HLMP) that is inclusive and 9 To create a healthy community, we need everyone to be involved. This resonates with everyone, the Taskforce sought feedback, views, and ideas includes the government, public and private organisations, the community from Singaporeans from all walks of life. We held a six-week-long public and you. In order to achieve improvements in health and well-being, consultation and engaged 530 individuals via both face-to-face and we should look at health holistically; from the infrastructural, social, to online platforms. There was a good mix of respondents from different age economic perspectives. groups and across income strata, from students to working adults to retirees. 10 The Healthy Living Master Plan Taskforce adopted an inclusive and integrative approach by involving the community in a co-creation process. 6 Many of you shared what it means to live healthily, your aspirations and We hope to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and build on existing challenges for healthy living, in the environment where you live, work, infrastructure and ideas to develop a Master Plan that outlines strategies and play. There were also good ideas on encouraging and motivating that will allow Singaporeans to have easy access to healthy living. With individuals to practise healthy living habits. These ideas included having this in mind, we came up with the vision of the Master Plan: free access to physical infrastructure that is closer to home and for healthy living options to be more affordable. A substantial number of Singaporeans indicated that social ties and the presence of role models can be good motivators for behavioural change. Healthy Living Every Day: 7 In our public consultation, a participant shared his thoughts on what defines Making The Connections healthy living – “Healthy living is happy living – it is not only about being free from disease but also for one to have good mental health.” This is the ideal scenario where one is truly in a state of physical, mental, and social well-being and this is also a vision that is wholly supported by the World Health Organization. 8 The views and suggestions also gave insight into the complexity of shaping a landscape that is able to make healthy living a way of life. The health of an individual can be affected by factors extending from the environment to culture, and by interpersonal relationships with family and friends. In a way, we can conclude that achieving good health goes beyond making that personal choice, and any lifestyle change is best supported by a conducive environment. Healthy living is happy living – it is not only about being free from disease but also for one to have good mental health. 06 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER 1: SINGAPORE’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE 07 11 The Master Plan envisages healthy living as accessible, natural, and CHAPTER 1: effortless for all Singaporeans. In this Vision, Singapore in 2020 will have healthy living at the “doorstep” of every home, workplace, and school. We SINGAPORE’S HEALTH AND will scale up and improve amenities and services, making healthy living pervasive and a way of life. Singaporeans can move from neighbourhoods SOCIAL LANDSCAPE to offices and schools embracing healthy living as a part of everyday routine. We will bring together the various stakeholders, both from the public and private sectors, and citizens working towards this vision. 12 Whether you are a housewife, working individual, retiree or a student, our vision is to make healthy living easy, convenient and attractive to you. Healthy Living – What Does Living Longer Mean To Us? This Master Plan is a living document and will continue to evolve as new approaches and ideas emerge in the future. 1 Like citizens in many developed nations around the world, Singaporeans are living longer. As at 2012, women can expect, on average, to live 3PS OF PLACE, PEOPLE, PRICE to 84.5 years old and men to 79.9 years old1. By 2030, the number of Singaporeans aged 65 and above is projected to triple to 900,0002. a) PLACE – a conducive environment for healthy living b) PEOPLE – a socially inclusive community for healthy living 2 As our population ages, more Singaporeans will develop non- communicable diseases3 (NCDs) such as heart disease & stroke, cancer, c) PRICE – affordable options for healthy living diabetes, mental disorders and chronic respiratory disease. NCDs can affect daily living and pose long term health issues. According to the Singapore Burden of Diseases Study 2010, approximately 70% of the burden of deaths and ill-health are caused by NCDs. 3 To live long and to live well, we need to be free from NCDs. Only then we can be in good health to continue to pursue our goals and aspirations. 4 The leading NCDs in Singapore are largely influenced by a number of risk factors (ranging from lifestyle to Leading NCDs in Singapore dietary factors)4. In particular, obesity (as measured by • Heart disease & stroke Body Mass Index [BMI]) and cigarette smoking are the • Cancer two biggest risk factors associated with the burden • Diabetes of disease (Figure 1). This is followed by high blood • Mental disorders pressure and high blood cholesterol. The good news • Chronic respiratory disease is, most of these risk factors can be managed through changes to our lifestyles. 1 Department of Statistics (DOS), Singapore, 2012. 2 National Talent and Population Division. A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore: Population White Paper. January 2013. 3 Disease burden is the impact of a health problem measured in terms of financial cost, ill health and preventable death. It can be quantified in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) or disabilityadjusted life years (DALYs), both of which quantify the number of years lost due to disease. 4 Singapore Burden of Diseases Study, 2010. 08 CHAPTER 1: SINGAPORE’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE CHAPTER 1: SINGAPORE’S HEALTH AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE 09 Healthy Living - Challenges Figure 1: Risk Factors Associated with Burden of Disease5 6 While many of us appreciate the importance and benefits of healthy living and healthy lifestyle habits, we learned from the public consultations that it can be challenging for individuals to achieve physical and mental well- being due to the many competing needs and wants in our daily lives.