Putting your hands up to the music or cooling down after a brisk walk?
Not quite! These alumni recently learned valuable tips on staying healthy through a talk on ‘Optimising Bone and Muscle Health in Older Adults’ held on 28 March 2026.
Organised by the Medical Alumni Association and the NUS Office of Alumni Relations, the session was well attended, with 141 participants in person and online.
It is widely recognised that Singapore is being submerged by the silver tsunami. Nearly a fifth of Singaporeans are aged 65 or older. Life expectancy is now 85 years, with the unfortunate reality that the last ten years are likely to be debilitating due to poor bone and muscle health. Beyond the decline in quality of life, weak bones and muscles will lead to falls and fractures, along with their adverse consequences.
Despite these risks, the prevailing but mistaken belief is that senior citizens should not exercise.
The speaker, Dr Ng Lee Beng, Family Medicine Specialist and Senior Consultant at Singapore General Hospital, highlighted that almost 60% of the elderly are not physically active.
Hence, Dr Ng advised everyone to get out of their chairs and start moving.
Regardless of your age,
- Start low and go slow to start your exercise routine,
- Increase the intensity of your exercise progressively, and
- Build a routine of regular physical activity into your lives.
Alumni who already have health issues such as osteoporosis should work with their doctors on integrating exercise into their daily lives.
Examples of such exercises are shown below:
During the talk, co-speaker Mr David Hoi, Exercise Physiologist at UFit, coached the audience on simple exercises.
Apart from debunking the fallacy that the elderly should not exercise, other take-home messages included:
- Eating adequately and healthily,
- Adding protein, calcium, vitamin D, fruits and vegetables to your diet,
- Recognising that plant protein is not inferior to animal protein, and
- Setting smart goals for your health
Curious about the talk? Are you ready to build good health?
You can watch the entire talk here.
The Medical Alumni Association is the oldest alumni association in NUS at 102 years old and counting. With graduates from the medical, dental, pharmacy, and nursing faculty, we hope to contribute more to our community. If you have any thoughts on this event or suggestions for future talks, drop us a line. https://www.medicalalumni.org.sg/contact
