Obesity and Health Promotion amongst Students

Mr Ong Teng Koon asked the Minister for Education (a) whether the obesity rate of our students from the Primary and Secondary schools is comparable to that of other developed countries; and (b) how does the Ministry promote the health and fitness of students in post-Secondary institutions.

Mr Heng Swee Keat: The 2011 national school obesity rate, which covers all our students from Primary to Pre-U levels, is 11.0%, based on BMI 5 -for-Age norms.

The obesity rate of students in our national schools is low compared to other developed countries. The percentage of children aged 5-17 years who were overweight and severely overweight for the developed countries ranged from 13.1% (Korea) to 35.5% (USA) in 2011.

With the introduction of the Holistic Health Framework in 2007, all schools, including the Junior Colleges and Centralised Institute, have implemented programmes to promote physical, mental and social health. Students participate in two hours of PE lessons weekly where they learn to keep fit and healthy. Health-related programmes, such as mass sports activities, sports enrichment, learning journeys to relevant agencies/organisations and health talks, are also organised for the students. Students can join a range of Sports CCAs.

The Polytechnics and ITE promote health and fitness through both the formal and informal curriculum. The Polytechnics have designed comprehensive health and fitness programmes for their students. 6 For example, the Polytechnics conduct modules on fitness management 7 , hold workshops on weight management, smoking cessation and healthy eating, and organise many sports activities, such as annual marathons and sports tournaments. In addition, all polytechnic final-year students who are required to serve National Service have to take the NAPFA test. They can also participate in programmes to help prepare them for their NAPFA test.

All ITE students undergo a compulsory two-hour Sports and Wellness lesson each week, which incorporates physical exercises, sports and games, and theory lessons pertaining to physical well-being and healthy living. ITE has also recently piloted the Student Health Advisor (SHA) Programme at ITE College East and ITE College West, and will extend this to ITE College East. The Student Health Advisor is a qualified nurse who is based at the College and who provides health advice and counselling to students with health issues.

In addition, ITE and the Polytechnics organise institution-wide health and fitness carnivals, and wellness workshops on weight management, smoking control, nutrition and mental well-being. Students also have many opportunities to participate in a wide range of sports and wellness activities, through CCAs and inter- and intra-polytechnic/ITE sports competitions.

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The PSEIs have also recently signed onto the Health Promotion Board's CHERISH 8 programme, which is a holistic framework to guide the institutions in creating the right environment for developing healthy lifestyle habits among students, staff, parents and the community.