Over 9,000 people lost weight under IfitEr progamme, says Health Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: The IfitEr (I Fit and Eat Right) Weight Management Programme implemented at 30 ‘wellness hubs’ nationwide has led to 9,031 clients losing weight, says Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni (pic).

He added that under the initiative, 4,846 clients had been able to quit smoking.

“The Health Ministry through the Malaysia Sihat National Agenda (ANMS), is always proactive in enhancing public awareness of health issues including non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol,” said Lukanisman.

“Under Phase 1 (2020-2022) of the ANMS, the spread of health literacy and awareness on the importance of health checkups will continue to be implemented from time to time,” he added during the question-and-answer session at the Senate on Wednesday (Dec 6).

He said this in response to a question from Senator Prof Tan Sri Mohamed Haniffa Abdullah on steps taken by the ministry to enhance public awareness of health screening and the spread of health literacy with 73% of deaths recorded in the country being from non-communicable diseases caused by unhealthy living

Lukanisman said the programmes implemented under health literacy and awareness included the Health Promotion in Learning Institutions (HePiLI), a health promotion and education to target groups as early as preschool children.

“Apart from that, we also have the Community Health Empowerment programme through the wellness hub and the Community Health Agent (MyChampion) which consists of volunteers from COMBI, KOSPEN, dental icons, drug awareness ambassadors, village health representatives and members of the advisory panel and outreach programmes through Wellness on Wheel (WOW) involving 623 community localities in the country,” he said.

Lukanisman said the National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) was also implemented by the ministry in July 2022 for those aged 18 and above, with a total of 1.38 million individuals screened this year. – BK

TAGS: MOH, intervention, health, weight management, Lukanisman Awang Sauni