New Philips Study Finds Less Than 50% of Singapore Respondents Feel They Do Enough To Keep Healthy

At the recent Philips Wonder of You event held in Singapore, it was certainly a bit of an eye-opener. No, it wasn't because there were mindblowing new products being launched, but because Philips had released the results of their inaugural Healthy Living in Asia survey.

Conducted with 4,000 respondents from Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand, the survey focused on finding out the respondents' attitudes towards healthy living, new healthcare technology and more. According to the results, 93% of Singaporean respondents understood the importance of "preventative healthcare", the act of ensuring that you lead a healthier life now - through having a proper diet, regular exercise and such - to prevent potential health complications in the future.

Credit: Philips

Despite that very promising data point though, 55% of the Singapore respondents felt that they weren't doing enough to keep themselves healthy, with 50% citing a lack of time due to work, family and personal commitments. Additionally, only around 22% of the Singapore respondents are currently using personal health technologies and devices to track health metrics like heart health, diet, sleep, oral health and more.

However, 64% of the respondents in Singapore did say they would like to use such devices to track their general health within the next three years.

Left to Right: Dr Gina Dahel, Child Health Specialist at International Medical Clinic; Dr Tan Wei Sheng, Medical Director and Consultant Dermatologist at Dermatology & Co; Dr Leonica Kei, Founder and Principal Trichologist at Leonica K Trichology; Dr Yue Weng Cheu, Clinical Director and Founder at DP Dental; Mr Muir Keir, Business Leader, Personal Health, Philips ASEAN Pacific; and Ms Deeptha Khanna, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Leader, Philips Personal Health at the Philips Wonder of You event. / Credit: Philips

“It is heartening to see that so many people in the region recognize the importance of maintaining good health and managing existing conditions. One way to encourage preventive care might lie in making health technology smarter. Consumers in the region have displayed an openness to interacting with health technologies which offer personalized health approaches for better health outcomes. At Philips, we’re already doing this through devices like smart toothbrushes that are linked to consumer apps, offering insights that prompt action for more effective oral healthcare,” said Muir Keir, Business Leader, Personal Health, Philips ASEAN Pacific.

Keeping track of one's health metrics would certainly only be of benefit, and we've seen that quite personally in a recent incident where the Apple Watch helped in figuring out something was wrong before a positive COVID-19 test. The results from the survey are certainly heartening, and we can definitely expect to see an uptick in consumers looking to take more control over their personal health in the near future.