The Singapore Food Strategy Plan

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) asks Singaporeans to join in the healthy lifestyle movement. There are people who gladly welcome the movement and join it without further ado but there are others who simply deny or ignore it. Regardless of your choice, it is imperative that you take note of HPB’s strategies or plans.

HPB is worried about the deterioration of dietary quality among Singaporeans. HPB noted that there is an increasing number of Singaporeans who consume calories more than the recommended intake. Apart from calories, people here are also consuming more saturated fats. With this, the HPB has formulated “food strategy” to give people more healthy options.

HPB announced this on June 4, 2014. The strategy composes of 3 initiatives which will be applied in the next months. Here are the 3 initiatives:

• Healthier Dining Programme: The Healthier Dining Programme seeks to increase healthy eat-out meals across the island. The target of the Programme is to serve one hundred eighty million healthy meals every year at the end of 2020. As a prelude, HPB is asking eighteen food-service providers to offer healthy 500-calorie meals throughout seven hundred stalls and outlets. If you want details,
• Healthier Choice Products: Let it be known that there is Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS). HCS is a mark for food products that symbolizes healthy option. HPB seeks to encourage everyone to choose products that bear the HCS mark. HPB is working with food manufacturers to intensify the variety of HCS products. In addition to this, HPB will work with supermarket chains to promote HCS products and make it accessible and affordable.
• Cutting Empty Calories: As mentioned earlier, HPB is very concerned about the intake of calories. HPB decided to tap beverage players to manufacture and promote beverages with less sugar. HPB is also urging beverage players to intensify the availability of less-sugar drinks in the workplace, schools and the whole community.

Now that you know the initiatives of HPB, you should make an effort to follow their lead. It is not yet too late to join the initiative of HPB. The agency will be happy if you share this information to your co-workers, friends and your family. Happy dieting!

Do not forget that you cannot achieve a healthy body without exercise. Food alone is not effective if you want a healthy and happy life. You also need to exercise twice or thrice a week. Go to gyms or join your community’s exercise programmes.