Number of Overweight Students in Schools and Weight Management Programmes to Help Them

Mr Darryl David asked the Minister for Education (a) in the last five years, what is the number of overweight or obese students in primary and secondary schools; (b) whether an update can be provided on the programmes in place to help these students manage their weight issues; and (c) what are the success rates of these programmes in helping these students get to their ideal weight range.

Mr Desmond Lee: In the last five years, the proportion of students who are overweight and severely overweight 1 across primary, secondary and pre-university levels have gradually dropped from 16% during COVID-19 in 2021 to pre-COVID-19 levels of 13% from 2023. This has remained stable since then. This proportion remains low compared to many other countries.

Our schools adopt a holistic health promotion approach to improve the well-being of students and promote active and healthy lifestyles. Through Physical Education (PE) lessons, students are taught good health habits, such as healthy eating, how to exercise and learn a wide range of sports and outdoor activities. Through inter-class games, camps, unstructured play during recess, PE lessons and Co-curricular Activities, students have the opportunity to be active in school and cultivate habits for an active lifestyle.

To complement efforts in schools, Grow Well SG, a multi-ministry health promotion strategy, was launched in January 2025. It promotes the formation of healthy habits, such as good nutrition, sleep, screen use and physical activity. Doing these well can help children maintain a healthy weight and, importantly, a healthy lifestyle beyond their time in school.

As part of this strategy, every child receives a personalised Health Plan, which provides lifestyle prescriptions to raise awareness and drive behaviour change. The Health Promotion Board guides each child to consider key health behaviours as part of its annual School Health Screening programme and supports parents with resources and practical tips to cultivate good habits in their children.

Successful weight management requires gradual and consistent lifestyle modifications. We will continue to work closely with parents to help students lead an active and healthy lifestyle.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 7:

1 BMI-for-age at or above 90th percentile