With more and more Singaporeans getting fat and rich, weight management services are booming despite the recession.
Mavis Toh and Shuli Sudderuddin 23 August 2009
People everywhere, including in Singapore, are getting fatter and more conscious about it.
This means more business for those who deal in weight management - from obesity clinics and slimming centres to health supplement providers and fitness centres.
Boom years or lean years, these businesses seem to be recession-proof too.
IT consultant Gerry Ng, for instance, has been on and off diet pills for the last five years.
Inspired by a colleague who had lost 10kg in two months, he went to a clinic to get a supply of the fat burner and appetite suppressant.
He shed 20kg within five months. But each time he tried to get off the pills, the kilos returned. He tipped the scales at 95kg when he started, and at his slimmest he weighed 75kg.
Mr. Ng, 28, who now weighs 82kg, said: ‘I have no choice but to stick with it. I’m dependent on it now.’
A recent report by British-based research and consulting firm MarketsandMarkets said the global weight management market will hit US$586 billion (S$847 billion) in 2014, up from about US$363 billion now.
As for Singapore, Health Promotion Board (HPB) statistics show that the prevalence of obesity among adults aged between 19 and 59 years has increased steadily from 5.1 per cent (1992) to 6.9 per cent (2004).
When weight-loss reality TV show, Biggest Loser Asia, held its audition in Singapore last month, more than 500 people registered. One must have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher to qualify.
A BMI of 25 upwards is considered overweight.
Associate Professor Catherine Tay, editor of the book Slim Chance Fat Hope: Society’s Obsession With Thinness, attributed the interest in weight loss to increases in affluence and unhealthy eating habits.
The Business School lecturer at the National University of Singapore added that people now see obesity as a disease that needs to be controlled.
The 2004 National Nutrition Survey said 48.2 per cent of Singaporeans consumed in excess of the recommended energy intake, compared to 31.8 per cent in 1998.
Dr Baladas Haridas Ganesan, a specialist in general surgery at Raffles Hospital, did about 80 lap-band operations in total in 2007 and 2008.
In this procedure, small incisions are made to attach a band around the upper stomach, reducing its size and hence the patient’s appetite.
It is meant for ‘medically dangerously obese’ patients.
Dr Baladas said the demand for lap-band surgery has crept up from about four a year in 2001 to 40 a year now. He foresees doing 100 such procedures yearly in the future.
1 comment:
Big bucks
With more and more Singaporeans getting fat and rich, weight management services are booming despite the recession.
Mavis Toh and Shuli Sudderuddin
23 August 2009
People everywhere, including in Singapore, are getting fatter and more conscious about it.
This means more business for those who deal in weight management - from obesity clinics and slimming centres to health supplement providers and fitness centres.
Boom years or lean years, these businesses seem to be recession-proof too.
IT consultant Gerry Ng, for instance, has been on and off diet pills for the last five years.
Inspired by a colleague who had lost 10kg in two months, he went to a clinic to get a supply of the fat burner and appetite suppressant.
He shed 20kg within five months. But each time he tried to get off the pills, the kilos returned. He tipped the scales at 95kg when he started, and at his slimmest he weighed 75kg.
Mr. Ng, 28, who now weighs 82kg, said: ‘I have no choice but to stick with it. I’m dependent on it now.’
A recent report by British-based research and consulting firm MarketsandMarkets said the global weight management market will hit US$586 billion (S$847 billion) in 2014, up from about US$363 billion now.
As for Singapore, Health Promotion Board (HPB) statistics show that the prevalence of obesity among adults aged between 19 and 59 years has increased steadily from 5.1 per cent (1992) to 6.9 per cent (2004).
When weight-loss reality TV show, Biggest Loser Asia, held its audition in Singapore last month, more than 500 people registered. One must have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher to qualify.
A BMI of 25 upwards is considered overweight.
Associate Professor Catherine Tay, editor of the book Slim Chance Fat Hope: Society’s Obsession With Thinness, attributed the interest in weight loss to increases in affluence and unhealthy eating habits.
The Business School lecturer at the National University of Singapore added that people now see obesity as a disease that needs to be controlled.
The 2004 National Nutrition Survey said 48.2 per cent of Singaporeans consumed in excess of the recommended energy intake, compared to 31.8 per cent in 1998.
Dr Baladas Haridas Ganesan, a specialist in general surgery at Raffles Hospital, did about 80 lap-band operations in total in 2007 and 2008.
In this procedure, small incisions are made to attach a band around the upper stomach, reducing its size and hence the patient’s appetite.
It is meant for ‘medically dangerously obese’ patients.
Dr Baladas said the demand for lap-band surgery has crept up from about four a year in 2001 to 40 a year now. He foresees doing 100 such procedures yearly in the future.
Post a Comment