Spreading Health Literacy Amongst Malaysians

Sunway Healthcare Group launches digital-first “Know Diabetes” campaign with a diabetes risk calculator

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Dr Ng Xun Jin demonstrates the impact of healthy and unhealthy food choices on our blood sugar levels using a continuous glucose monitor

In continuous support of the Government’s and Ministry of Health’s efforts to curb diabetes, Sunway Healthcare Group has launched its annual “Know Diabetes” campaign in conjunction with World Diabetes Day on 14 November.

In its third year, the interactive digital-first campaign aims to reach out to more Malaysians to spread health literacy amongst Malaysians. According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019, 1 in 5 adults in Malaysia have diabetes. According to a study, by 2025, it is expected that 1 in 3 adults in Malaysia will have diabetes if efforts to amplify awareness is not accelerated.1

The digital-first campaign was designed to reach out to more Malaysians, and will provide free information and resources for the public – including free quick diabetes risk calculator assessment, and diabetes knowledge quizzes where winners will be able to win annual passes to Sunway Lagoon. In the past two years, Sunway Healthcare Group’s ‘Know Diabetes’ campaign had reached over 1.4 million Malaysians via webinars, social media posts, and diabetes e-guidebook downloads.

Sunway Healthcare Group President, Dato’ Lau Beng Long said, “The Government’s earnest effort in curbing the spread of diabetes is evident in the recent tabling of the Budget 2024 where the government had proposed to increase the excise duty on sweetened beverages (‘sugar tax’) from 40 sen per litre to 50 sen per litre and with such tax collected to be channelled to treat diabetes and provide support to dialysis centres.”

“The diabetes crisis cannot be curbed without all Malaysians coming together and working together. The Sunway Healthcare Group’s ‘Know Diabetes 2023’ campaign intends to bring Malaysians from all walks of life together to curb the rise of diabetes and empower each and every Malaysian to lead healthier, disease-free lifestyles.”

Social media superstar Arwind Kumar, kick-started the campaign with a social media challenge that invites everyone to do their part as Malaysians to spread awareness about the disease. Those who participate in the social media challenge will be able to win tickets to a special diabetes-friendly dinner at a renowned restaurant by a Michelin-star chef in Sunway Resort Hotel.

Sunway Home Healthcare’s experts, Dr Ng Xun Jin, and Dr Ng Chin Nee, will also demonstrate the impact of healthy and unhealthy food choices on our blood sugar levels using a continuous glucose monitor. The public is also invited to let the experts know what foods they would like to see tracked on the continuous glucose monitor.

To join and follow the campaign, members of the public can visit the social media pages of Sunway Healthcare Group, Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway Medical Centre Velocity, and Sunway Medical Centre Penang. The risk calculator can be found on Sunway Medical Centre’s webpage at diabetes.sunwaymedical.com.


Reference

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8794132/#:~:text=The%20prevalence%20of%20diabetes%20raised,cases%20were%20undiagnosed%20%5B13%5D.