Healthier SG could boost Singapore’s Blue Zone status

SINGAPORE - Blue Zones are places where people live exceptionally long lives due to their naturally healthy lifestyles that combine physical activity, healthy food, low stress and strong social interactions.

These factors are not usually associated with Singapore.

Yet, in 2023, National Geographic journalist Dan Buettner, who with two others coined the term Blue Zone two decades ago,

called Singapore “Blue Zone 2.0”,

making it the first place to be added to the original five – Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Loma Linda (the US), Sardinia (Italy) and Nicoya (Costa Rica) – in more than a decade.

Mr Buettner called Singapore an “engineered longevity hot spot”, an assessment Health Minister Ong Ye Kung is pleased and agrees with.

“In Singapore, we’re not that healthy. (But Mr Buettner) recognised that our policies nudge us to become healthier (and) somehow, as a result of those nudges, over time, it becomes part and parcel of our culture,” Mr Ong said in an interview with The Straits Times.

People here are among the longest-lived populations in the world, with more than 1,500 centenarians.

When Singapore gained independence in 1965, the life expectancy was 65 years. By 2023, it had

gone up to 83 years,

with people living three years longer every decade. This is more than a decade longer than the global life expectancy of 72 years.

The nudges that have helped move up the life expectancy include having Healthier Choice symbols and Nutri-Grade ratings to indicate healthier food options; locating parks and park connectors in close proximity to residential estates to encourage increased physical activities; and getting hawkers and restaurants to offer meals that are lower in sodium and unhealthy fats and higher in whole grains.

The latest nudge comes from the 2023 launch of

Healthier SG,

a programme where people aged 40 and older are encouraged to choose a doctor who will care for them through life’s journey, recommending healthier lifestyles and useful vaccinations which are subsidised or free.

They should check their health with this doctor at least once a year, and if healthy, do a physical examination once every three years. The idea is to prevent or delay conditions that could affect their health.

Said Mr Ong: “One big change under Healthier SG is 100 per cent subsidy for cost-effective population health programmes, such as all these vaccinations.”

Vaccinations that are free under Healthier SG for those who are eligible by age or condition include an annual flu vaccine, as well as one-time vaccinations for pneumococcal, hepatitis B and varicella.

Mr Ong’s vision for Healthier SG: “I hope one day it becomes very common when you go to a GP and he says, ‘I think you need to do more exercise, these are the exercise groups around your home. Go there, register for Healthy 365 and get vouchers and get discounts.’

“These are things that are evolving and can happen.”

Commending Mr Ong for introducing Healthier SG, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong told ST: “This is a very important step in managing healthcare costs for the whole of Singapore, and it will take a long time to do. You need to restructure the entire payment and health financing system to be aligned with promoting this Healthier SG concept.”

He added that if more people here remain healthy for more years, “they won’t need to tap healthcare services”. “This is an important move towards moderating the healthcare cost increases,” he said.

But Mr Gan added that the results “will not be shown in our lifetime”. He said Mr Ong’s strategy is to put in place the structure to be passed on to the next health minister to continue. “In time to come, we will reap the benefits of a healthier Singapore”.