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Refreshed version of The Great Singapore Workout rolled out at the 2018 Healthy Lifestyle Festival SG marking 25 years of its creation
11 November 2018
President Halimah Yacob kicks off the mass workout in the community, calling on Singaporeans to keep active and take charge of their health.
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Singapore, 11 November 2018 – Singaporeans from all walks of life have gathered at the Healthy Lifestyle Festival SG 2018 anchor event today to join Guest-of-Honour President Halimah Yacob in ‘The Greater Singapore Workout’, a refreshed version of the original Great Singapore Workout, first introduced to Singaporeans in 1993.
Speaking at the event held at the Singapore Sports Hub, President Halimah Yacob said: “I am glad to have participated in the Greater Singapore Workout with the community today. It is important for everyone to take charge of our own health. Good health is a personal responsibility. An active lifestyle keeps diseases at bay, so we should all try our best to integrate healthy lifestyle habits into our daily lives.”
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original workout, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) has launched the new version, comprising 11 exercises, reminding Singaporeans of the importance of keeping active. The workout, which can be done by anyone, young or old, and in any setting also demonstrates how exercise can be made simple, fun and engaging.
The new workout sports a more upbeat tune and features several sets of upper body, lower body and full body movements. It retains familiar moves from the 1993 version, while injecting fresh and fun new moves inspired by everyday actions to strike a chord with Singaporeans. They include the “Mozzie Clap”, “Puddle Hop”, “Kiasu Chope” and “Teh Tarik”. A video of the workout can be found on HPB’s YouTube Channel (bit.ly/thegreatersingaporeworkout).
HPB will be reaching out to all 89 constituencies to introduce ‘The Greater Singapore Workout’, so that it can be used as an exercise routine at community events to encourage Singaporeans to lead a healthy lifestyle. It will also be incorporated into HPB’s various physical activity programmes islandwide, such as the ‘Sundays@The Park’, ‘Fitness@Work’, Quick HIIT and Active Family programmes.
Engaging Singaporeans on healthy lifestyle habits
Beyond ‘The Greater Singapore Workout’, other physical activity programmes and healthy living initiatives have been showcased at the month-long Healthy Lifestyle Festival SG which began in mid-October 2018 in roadshows across heartlands, culminating in today’s anchor event.
To highlight the importance of healthy lifestyles to Singaporeans who have attended the festival, more than 30 private and public sector partners have joined forces with HPB on a range of topics including healthy eating, health screening, mental wellness, staying tobacco-free and keeping active.
Mr Philip Lee, Chairman of HPB said: “Every year, the Healthy Lifestyle Festival SG enables us to reach out to Singaporeans of all ages on the importance of healthy living. This year, about 160,000 Singaporeans have attended our roadshows and anchor event. With the support of over 30 private and public sector partners, we have been able to offer Singaporeans a wide variety of activities over the last month, to interest and engage Singaporeans to lead healthier lifestyles.”
The 2018 festival theme ‘Quest for Healthy Living’ has taken the form of “adventure worlds”, which visitors could explore. Making their way through the four worlds – NutriQuest Empire, Mysterious Forest, Robo Garage and Wacky Wonderland, visitors can pick up fun and easy tips on incorporating healthy habits into their lifestyles through interactive activities.
For example, the ‘NutriQuest Empire’ focuses on nutrition, where visitors can learn more about creating a balanced meal and healthier recipes, how to achieve the recommended calorie intake, as well as choosing healthier options when eating out. Inside the Mysterious Forest, visitors play games to learn more about active ageing, and put their concentration and reflex to test. In the Robo Garage, interactive displays and installations provide visitors with information on health screening, physical activity and preventing the spread of communicable diseases. At the Wacky Wonderland, visitors can gain better knowledge around healthy sleep, mental wellbeing and participate in a treadmill challenge.
Continuing to build awareness about Diabetes
In a continued focus on the War on Diabetes, a segment of the anchor event has been dedicated to raising Singaporeans’ awareness of pre-diabetes this year. The aim is to help Singaporeans understand that pre-diabetes is reversible through early detection, and how healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating healthily and staying active, can reduce the risk of diabetes.
This is highlighted in an exhibit featuring a ‘Reverse Café’ in the Wacky Wonderland. Retractable panels, an interactive board game as well as a Reverse Walk Challenge show how early detection, eating well and staying active can reverse pre-diabetes, keeping the chronic disease at bay. Visitors are also encouraged to complete the Diabetes Risk Assessment (DRA), a simple and quick test to assess their current risk for diabetes.
Pre-diabetes is a condition where the blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered Type 2 diabetes. The condition puts those with pre-diabetes at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke. In Singapore today, over 400,000 Singaporeans have diabetes, and 1 in 3 Singaporeans is likely to get diabetes in their lifetime.
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For media queries, please contact:
Aidi Siah
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Health Promotion Board
6435 3956 / 9147 0634
Siah_Ai_Di@hpb.gov.sg
Rebecca Oh
Consultant
Klareco Communications
+65 6333 3449/ +65 8161 6783
ROh@klarecocomms.com
About the Health Promotion Board
The Health Promotion Board was established as a statutory board under the Ministry of Health, Singapore, in 2001 with the vision of building “A Nation of Healthy People”. The Health Promotion Board aims to empower the people of Singapore to attain optimal health, increase the quality and years of healthy life and prevent illness, disability and premature death. As the key agency overseeing national health promotion and disease prevention programmes, HPB spearheads health education, promotion and prevention programmes as well as creates a health-supportive environment in Singapore. It develops and organises relevant health promotion and disease prevention programmes, reaching out to the healthy, the at-risk and the unhealthy at all stages of life – children, youths, adults and older Singapore residents. Its health promotion programmes include nutrition, mental health, physical activity, smoking control and communicable disease education. HPB also promotes healthy ageing, integrated health screening, and chronic disease education and management.
More information can be found at www.hpb.gov.sg.
Media Release
For more information on the article above, refer to Media Release [PDF, 357 KB].