Singapore medical conference focuses on exercise and nutrition as alternatives to medication

A new Asian medical conference is to have the issues of nutrition and exercise for seniors as its central theme.

Introducing the inaugural ELDEX Asia medical conference, which will take place on 8th November 2019 at Singapore’s Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dr Tan Jit Seng, Chairman of ELDEX Asia’s Advisory Board, stated “Singapore’s healthcare system, as with many parts of developing Asia, has traditionally relied on efficacious means to combat acute medical conditions through the use of pharmaceuticals.

“While we cannot shy away completely from medicine, from a longer-term perspective and now that Singapore is more economically developed with many leading largely sedentary lifestyles, we can start to take a hard look at returning to fundamentals.

“In the past, eating staples to ensure one was full and had the energy to undertake labor-intensive work was fine. However, as more of us operate in comfortable office environments, the ability to burn off calories is no longer part of one’s daily work routine.

“Rising living standards also mean the ability to eat richer and cholesterol dense foods. The combination of these various factors invariably leads to the rise in chronic conditions such as the ‘three highs’ of blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.

“For this very reason, together with my colleagues, we felt strongly that we should nip the first world problem in the bud by adopting these themes for the inaugural medical conference.”

Headlining the agenda are three keynote speakers: Professor Wee Shiou Liang from Singapore’s Geriatric Education and Research Institute (GERI), Associate Professor Huang Dejian from the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Professor Tai E-Shyong from Singapore’s National University Hospital (NUH).

Professor Wee will kick-start the conference by addressing the dire need for fitness in seniors. Associate Professor Huang will then deliver the opening keynote for the afternoon session, presenting the latest research findings on how ‘Nutrition is medicine’. To conclude the conference, Professor Tai will present the closing keynote on how technology can be leveraged to combine exercise and nutrition, ultimately making healthy choices relevant to the consumer.

ELDEX Asia’s Event Director, Joseph Yeo added “under the guidance of ELDEX Asia’s Advisory Board, we have consciously and closely collaborated with our luminary panel of presenting experts in the domain of ageing to define learning objectives clearly based on extensive research.

“Most medical conference typically have a different approach, and for good reasons. Together with our Chairman and the Advisory Board, we feel strongly that we can adopt a fresh perspective towards living longer better and retarding frailty. This could be the start of a movement that advocates limiting the use of medicine to treat acute conditions, and only whenever there is a compelling real need. In turn, this could potentially help alleviate the pressures of increasing healthcare and other associated costs for consumers.”

ELDEX Asia’s medical conference is free to attend for all medical doctors, practicing nurses, and therapists (including physiotherapists, speech therapists, and occupational therapists).

The event is backed by the International Council on Active Aging, British Commonwealth accredited Commonwealth civil society organisation CommonAge, the Gerontological Society of Singapore and SilverEco.org, a major actor in the French Silver Economy.

Participants interested to attend the event can register at www.eldexasia.com from 22nd July 2019.