HPB to reward senior citizens who brisk walk regularly

SINGAPORE: The Health Promotion Board (HPB) on Sunday released the findings of a study involving 1,200 seniors, which showed that those who participated in the National Brisk Walking Programme were, on average, eight per cent fitter than their peers.

The HPB also revealed that it is coming up with a reward system for seniors who spend at least 100 minutes a week brisk walking.

These seniors will be assessed every six months and could qualify for yearly awards. Those who achieve at least 200 minutes of brisk walking a week will attain the gold award, while those who brisk walk for at least 150 and 100 minutes will get the silver and bronze awards respectively.

The awards come with certificates and vouchers that can be used to buy healthy food.

The rewards will be offered to 100,000 constituents in the 700 brisk-walking clubs here and will progressively be rolled out islandwide, said HPB chief executive officer Ang Hak Seng.

"The reward is not about giving them something ... but about (providing) them a sense of accomplishment," Mr Ang said, adding that more details will be announced later.

To mark the third anniversary of the National Brisk Walking Programme, 10,000 residents took part in brisk-walking sessions across the island.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who was at one of the sessions, noted that exercise such as brisk walking is increasingly important to cope with the challenges of an ageing population.

"One of the key strategies to address this challenge is to encourage Singaporeans to live well and stay active, healthy and engaged. For this reason, the brisk-walking club is a very important part of this strategy.

"Through brisk walking, Singaporeans can work out together (and) stay healthy," said Mr Gan, who shared that he brisk walks up to twice a day on weekends.

North-West District Mayor Teo Ho Pin, who chairs the National Brisk Walking Workgroup, said there are plans to reach out further to minorities such as Indians and Malays, as not many have joined the groups.

To encourage greater participation among all Singaporeans, Mr Ang said "bite-sized" brisk-walking exercises will be introduced during community events.

The South-West Community Development Council (CDC) will start a pilot for such exercises, which will be rolled out by other CDCs over the next three years.

Brisk-walking events with special themes - such as paranormal walks and speed-dating walks - will also be held between July and August, Mr Ang added.