23 Aug 2011
By POON CHIAN HUI
Panel rules on who can take part after death of participant
A LOCAL weight-loss programme in which a participant died in January is back for a third round.
The Health Promotion Board (HPB) said yesterday it will kick off a new edition of Lose To Win in January next year.
More than 1,000 people have taken part in the 12-week programme, which was launched in 2009 and has been featured on TV.
On Sunday, recommendations of who can take part this time round were released by an expert panel, appointed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to look into the man’s death.
People with one of 22 medical conditions, such as severe chest pain due to poor oxygen supply to the heart muscles, cannot sign up.
Those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than 37.5 will also be barred. People with a BMI of 23 and above are considered overweight.
Both groups will instead be referred to a clinical weight management programme at Changi General Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Singapore General Hospital (SGH), said Dr Shyamala Thilagaratnam, director of HPB’s healthy ageing division.
There, they will come under the close supervision of a health-care professional.
Such clinical weight management programmes usually last six months.
In comparison, the 12-week Lose To Win is conducted in places like community clubs, said Dr Shyamala.
Participants stand to win cash and vouchers worth between $200 and $5,000 if they score well in four areas: attendance, fitness index, percentage of weight loss and reduction in waist circumference.
Activities like nutrition workshops and physical exercise are conducted to help them lose weight at a rate of not more than 1kg a week.
Parts of the process are shown on television.
In January, Mr Ong Joo Aun, 54, a human resource executive and father of two, died after completing a 2km brisk walk.
A week later, the HPB stopped all physical activities under the programme. A group of four experts, led by Professor Ng Han Seong, chairman of SGH’s medical board, was formed to review the circumstances surrounding his death.
The panel found that there had been “due diligence” in screening suitable participants in the programme. For example, internationally accepted screening tools were used.
Safety and emergency measures applied to all participants were also found to be more than what is recommended by the Singapore Sports Council. The emergency help given to Mr Ong was also deemed “timely and appropriate”.
The panel concluded that while exercise can briefly increase the risk of incidents like heart attack, the health benefits “outweigh the risks as a whole”.
Dr Shyamala said the recruitment of participants in the third edition will begin in October.
Mr Raghuraman Subramanian, 59, said he would “most certainly” take part again. In 2009, the director of business management lost 10kg on the programme. He is keen to go on board again “to motivate others”.
“I have tried several times to lose weight but it never worked,” he said.
chpoon@sph.com.sg
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