SIBU: A youth survey in 2010 revealed that health was the top concern among youths aged between 15 and 24 years old, said Youth Advisor in the Chief Minister’s Department Larry Sng.
According to Sng, the survey had 7,600 respondents with 89 per cent coming from the youth age group.
“When asked why, they said they were afraid of dying. This is perhaps, a growing concern because of the change in people’s lifestyle, working patterns, food intake, and greater understanding of known diseases through newspapers and other forms of media.
“Personally, I view this as a positive development as youths are giving their health top priority,” Sng said in his speech at the Parkway health talk on Saturday at a leading hotel here.
The public health talk was organised by Sibu Chiang Chuan Association with Parkway Health Singapore as the main sponsor.
He also said that with the advancements in medical science, doctors are able to better treat patients and develop early prevention methods as well as find ways to fight diseases.
Addressing a crowd of about 700 people, Sng said with the support and collaboration of NGOs, Parkway Health has been able to reach out to more people in society as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR).
He was optimistic that Sibu Chiang Chuan Association is able to provide the platform to organise people, disseminate information and in future, perhaps, become a support group to affected families within the society.
Meanwhile, the two speakers for the evening were Dr Kevin Lee of Mt Elizabeth Hospital and Dr Jennifer Liauw of Gleneagles Hospital, both from Singapore.
Dr Lee expounded on ‘Knee Pain — Sports Injuries, Cartilage Problems and Arthritis’.
Dr Liauw on the other hand, shared her expert medical knowledge on ‘Colorectal Cancer — Do I have it? Can I prevent it?’