Nutrition guides, recipe book to nudge seniors towards healthier eating
Dr Amy Khor (centre) making a balanced and healthy sandwich with participants at the launch of the Seniors’ Nutrition Campaign. Photo: Robin Choo/TODAY
SINGAPORE — After a bid to get seniors to exercise, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) is turning its attention to get those above 50 years old to eat more healthily by placing nutrition guides and recipe books at community centres, some food outlets and pharmacies for them to pick up.
The nutritional toolkit, the second in a series of healthy lifestyle campaigns under the National Seniors Health Programme started in September last year, was launched yesterday.
The move comes as the Government recently launched a war against diabetes by encouraging good eating habits among the key strategies.
The HPB cited the World Health Organization’s findings that positive dietary changes such as reducing the intake of salt and eating more vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In Singapore, the National Nutrition Survey in 2010 found that one in two seniors do not consume enough calcium. A quarter do not eat enough proteins while three in four seniors eat less than the recommended two daily servings of vegetables.
Tailored to address these findings, the nutritional toolkit reminds seniors to include sufficient protein and calcium in their diet, switch to whole grains like brown rice or oats and reduce their sodium intake.
The accompanying recipe book, which comes in the four national languages, also teaches seniors how to prepare healthier alternatives of dishes such as laksa fried rice and mee goreng using brown rice and less salt.
About 250,000 copies of the toolkit will be available at all community centres from Friday. It will also be distributed by HPB’s partners such as NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Shiong, Unity Pharmacy, Watsons, and selected outlets at Guardian, Kopitiam and POSB at a later date. The toolkit will also be given to mature workers from HPB’s workplace health programmes.
Senior Minister of State (Health) Amy Khor, who demonstrated two recipes from the toolkit’s recipe book for seniors in her Hong Kah North Single Member Constituency yesterday, said this nutrition campaign was timely, in light of her ministry’s recent declaration of war against diabetes.
“If we can eat right, we can age well. Through the campaign, HPB hopes to raise the awareness among seniors on the importance of good nutrition. Whether we are eating out or preparing meals at home, it is possible to make positive changes in our diet,” said Dr Khor.
“Many of the healthy eating tips in the nutrition toolkit will help our elderly have a healthy and balanced diet, (to) get the right type and right amount of nutrition ... Generally, a healthy and well-balanced diet is a way to prevent or manage chronic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes.”
Seniors who attended the cooking demonstration and interactive nutrition session, where they made sandwiches using healthier options like wholemeal bread, said the session taught them to be more mindful of their diet. Housewife Koh Mei Eng, 69, who cooks five times a week, said in Mandarin that she usually cooks the way she likes but would now try to cook with less sugar and salt.
Even before the session yesterday, retiree Yeo Guat Eng, 68, had already made the switch from white rice to brown rice, eats two servings of fruits and tries to reduce her intake of oil and salt. “I’m a senior so I’m very mindful of healthy ageing ... It’s a matter of getting used to it. Health is your own personal discipline,” said Mdm Yeo, adding that the session has taught her to include more vegetables and calcium in her diet.
