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Obesity in Singapore

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Submitted By nazzy26
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Introduction
Many of us are aware of the popular saying, “Our Health is our Wealth.” However, not many know the true definition of health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, 1948), “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” There are many factors that contribute to health either positively or negatively; this is called the determinants of health. The determinants of health can be divided into biomedical or biological conditions; which may include hereditary conditions such as diabetes, behavioural and psychosocial conditions such as taking drugs or having low self-esteem and also social-environmental conditions which include government policies, poor air quality and many more (WHO, 2013).
With the growth in the world population, it is therefore important for countries/governments to realise the importance of switching their strategy from a high risk strategy which tackles individuals to a low risk strategy which tackles the population in terms of handling the health issues in the country. This can be done by looking at the social determinants of health and eliminating the inequalities by providing an equal opportunity for each individual in the country to lead a healthy lifestyle. Social determinants of health is described as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system (WHO, 2013). This includes the social gradient, stress, early life, social exclusion, work, unemployment, social support, addiction, food and transport (Wilkinson R. & Marmot, M., 2003).
This report is going to take a look at one of the major health concerns in Singapore which is obesity. We are going to explore the determinants of obesity in Singapore and also take a look at what the government has done thus far, to control this health issue.
Obesity

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