Mar 3, 2011

Helping seniors stay active and healthy

EXERCISES such as brisk-walking and martial art forms qigong and taiji are already popular among the elderly, but a government committee is giving them a further boost to ensure seniors stay active and healthy.

Mr Heng Chee How, Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office), yesterday updated the House on the efforts of the Committee for Seniors for Physical Activity, which he chairs.

Some 500 brisk-walking clubs have been formed with about 90,000 participants. There are also 86 qigong clubs with 7,000 members. And close to 2,000 participants joined in a mass display during a taiji launch.

Mr Heng said the committee, with its partner organisations, has built up a pool of trainers. The Qigong Shi Ba Shi Association trained 170 instructors while the Health Promotion Board (HPB) trained 851 brisk-walking instructors. HPB and the National Parks Board also introduced 10 brisk-walking trails across all community development councils.

Mr Heng said the committee would work closely with the Manpower and Health ministries as well as unions to promote the three exercises in the workplace.

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The article demonstrates the many helping hands approach that singapore takes towards caring for the ageing population.