CGH has developed Singapore’s first online weight management programme through its health website, www.myhealth.sg. This interactive site is designed to empower the individual to manage their health and fitness needs online anytime, anywhere.

Designed by CGH doctors and health professionals, myhealth.sg offers personalised fitness, weight management and mental wellness programmes. Individuals who wish to lose weight or just maintain their fitness can access these clinically proven programmes that are offered to CGH patients through this interactive medium.

“To promote a healthy lifestyle, we need to do so beyond the confines of the hospital and we need to provide convenient tools that work. We have translated proven clinical programmes used by our patients onto myhealth.sg so that more individuals can make use of these tools to keep healthy,” said Mr T K Udairam, CGH CEO at the website’s official launch on 5 September 2008.

Myhealth.sg boasts of personalised health programmes, Asian health benchmarks and meals choices, clinically proven programmes and security and confidentiality. The website uses 2-factor authentication to ensure security of each user’s health records. It also serves as a site with useful health information from health articles, videos and health risk calculators.

The Weight Management module is based on the successful programme offered by the hospital since 2003. More than 2000 patients have embarked on this evidence-based programme employing dietary, physical activity and behaviour modification intervention. On average, they have lost 7 kg within 6 months.

Said Dr Ben Tan, Head of CGH’s Changi Sports Medicine Centre (CSMC) who is the brainchild behind the weight management and fitness programmes on myhealth.sg: “Individuals in Singapore and Asia looking for an online DIY health programme will find it extremely useful as we use Asian health benchmarks and meal choices; and local fitness tests like IPPT and NPFA to assess physical fitness.”

The CSMC is offering myhealth.sg to its weight management and sports medicine patients, using it as an additional tool for its clinical programmes.

Besides caring for physical health, myhealth.sg offers a mental health module that serves as a useful first-line mental health assessment. Supported by CGH’s mental health professionals, myhealth.sg provides mental health tips and advice based on the results of the assessment.

Mr Udairam added: “We developed myhealth.sg to be a versatile and accessible programme catering for the physical and mental health needs of the man-in-the-street.”

Individual membership for myhealth.sg is free. CGH staff are also encouraged to use the website to keep themselves healthy. To-date, over 5,300 staff and public users have signed up for myhealth.sg.

One of the public users, Mr Ng Jun Jie, a 23 year-old Assistant Software Engineer, could vouch for the quality of myhealth.sg. He has shed 10 kg off his 96 kg frame in 2.5 months since he started using the weight loss module in mid-June 2008 when the website was on trial-run.

Jun Jie, who suffers from thyroid problem and was looking for a way to manage his body weight, had picked up a copy of myhealth.sg brochures at CGH outpatient clinics. Excited by what he read in the brochure, he decided to give the website a try.

“myhealth.sg allows me to keep track of my caloric intake and energy expenditure. With the myriad of food choices available in myhealth.sg, I know exactly how much calories and energy value certain food type and portion provides. I just have to make sure that I don't exceed the prescribed caloric intake, be careful with the type of food I eat daily, and include some exercises in my weekly schedule,” said Jun Jie who logs into the website at least once a day to key in his daily food intake and to read the meal plans advice provided.

“myhealth.sg helps one to set realistic goals. This, together with advice from healthcare professionals such as Dr Ben Tan, I feel that the module is safe. I will definitely encourage people to subscribe to it for an even fitter health,” he added.