Keep Healthy with your Mobile Phone

Singapore has the world’s lowest health care costs and is ranked by the WHO as having the sixth best healthcare system in the world. Nevertheless, we all try to avoid a trip to the doctor wherever possible. In this modern world of smartphones, new solutions are proposed daily, designed to help you deal with your health needs. A number of apps have been developed, both by private companies and by the government of Singapore, to keep you healthy and deal with your problems if you fall sick.

As we all know, prevention is better than cure: one of the best things that a mobile phone health app can do is to help you stay fit. The Singapore Health Promotion Board has released a number of phone apps aimed at keeping you in shape. Healthy Chef contains over 70 nutritious recipes from Singapore's leading chefs. The HPB Diet Tracker allows you to keep track of what you're eating and compare it to the HPB food nutrition database, to give you an idea of whether you are in line with the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals. The HPB Fitness Tracker tracks your aerobic fitness score and body mass index over time, suggesting activities if your score does not fall within the recommended zone.

At the moment these apps only work with phones and tablets operating on iOS. If you are fond of other operating systems and own non iOS gadgets, you will need to look somewhere else. For example, if you have a BlackBerry Bold or an Android smartphone you might consider downloading Health Meter Premium as an alternative. Using this tool you can calculate your body mass index, basal metabolic rate, body fat and waist-to-hip ratio. This type of information can alert you to potential health risks and make you set a recommend daily calorie intake plan.

No matter how fit you are there will always come a time when you need to see a doctor. The Ministry of Health’s answer to this is the app MOH iHealth SG that offers a comprehensive guide to the country’s healthcare establishments and healthcare professionals.  If crisis strikes when you’re out but carrying your mobile phone in Singapore, you’ll still have direct access to information about the nearest medical facilities, be able to filter results by the service they provide, and get their addresses and phone numbers and even a map right away. The app is currently available for iOS only, but information apps on how to actually deal with a medical emergency are available on all platforms. Health Guide: FirstAid Pro, for example, encompasses a range of health tips: from day-to-day healthy living, to emergency information. It gives you immediate access to a database of emergency numbers, as well as online medical encyclopaedias that will help you understand what is wrong.

Here’s wishing the very best of health to you all!