Singapore the next Blue Zone?
I’ve watched Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix recently. The show depicts the journey of Dan Buettner as he discovers the lifestyles of people living in blue zones (areas with the highest concentrations of centenarians). He travelled to Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy, Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California and found that the common denominator between these zones are their people moved naturally throughout the day, ate wisely, had the right outlook on life which included knowing how to wind down and having a purpose in life and had a strong connection to other people. These are all important factors of health and subjects that we have been advocating. They do not need to make a conscious effort to be healthy because health is already embedded in their lifestyle and environment.
In the last episode of the series, Dan showcased Singapore as a Blue Zone 2.0 which revealed an increasing trend in life expectancy. Factors that contributed to this as he described in his show were the Proximity Housing Grant that encouraged families to stay close together, a safe environment for people to live, “Healthier Choice” labels for food and food stalls, a convenient transport system, government subsidised exercises classes and parks and fitness stations for people to exercise. Can Singapore really be the next Blue Zone?
We are in the right direction
The Singapore government has done well in building park connectors all around Singapore allowing residents to commute with ease. They have built fitness corners in every estate to allow residents to exercise without paying for hefty gym memberships. Community centres also organise various classes such as yoga, pilates and tai chi to keep people active. Keeping crime rates low, residents can feel safe walking around even late into the night which reduces a fair amount of stress compared to living in a country with higher crime rates. The healthier choice labels help people decide on healthier food options for those who do not wish to read the labels. But the question remains - is this enough for Singapore to be the next blue zone?
What we can improve on
Despite having fitness corners in every estate, unfortunately, Mr Ng Bee Kia and Mr Ngai Hin Kowk who were interviewed in the show are outliers of people their age group. Most 60s and 70 year olds are not as fit as them. Most fitness corners are underutilised for the most part. Perhaps callisthenics and parkour classes targeted at seniors be included in government subsidised classes to bring a higher level of functional dimension to their classes. Most of the current classes focus mainly on aerobic and balance and lack the strength and power component of physical training which has huge implications to falls prevention and keeping the elderly functional.
Even though our life expectancy statistics show an upward trend, so do our rates of preventable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. In order to keep our ageing population disease free, perhaps the ‘nudge’ strategy may be too gentle to slow down disease progression and a more radical approach may be needed. Just like how alcohol is more heavily taxed in Singapore, so should unhealthy, highly sugared and processed food. Imagine if the price of bubble tea and donuts were higher. It would discourage people from consuming them. This strategy has proven to work with COE and car volumes and cigarettes and smoking.
One of the biggest differences Singapore has with the other blue zones is the level of stress we have. A recent survey on stress found that 86% of Singaporeans surveyed were stressed and 15% reported that they are struggling to cope with stress. These figures are comparatively higher compared to the global average. As Singapore is one of the most expensive cities to live in, it is no surprise that the rising cost of living is one of the biggest factors of stress along with financial security. The majority of us may not have the power to make policy changes to bring the cost of living down, but within our own capacity, we can practise prudence and frugal living so that we are not subjected to the stress of upkeeping high mortgages or to live an expensive lifestyle of luxury. Inculcating financial literacy and investing also helps grow our finances. With a larger safety net of finances, we may be affected less by inflation or rising costs of living.
All in all, we have quite some way to go before we should rest on our laurels and claim we are the next blue zone. If policy makers who have a genuine care of their citizens work closely with the ground, it would not be impossible for us to live to be 100 healthy. It is my hope we can see that in my lifetime.
*Fingers crossed.
References
https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/stressed-in-singapore-rising-cost-of-living-is-triggering-wellbeing-issues
https://www.netflix.com/tw-en/title/81214929
