Health Campaign - National Steps Challenge by Health Promotion Board

Running Head: HEALTH CAMPAIGN
HEALTH CAMPAIGN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Health campaigns have been widely used all over the world for the promotion of health
and sustainable living. It has targeted all the age groups and their health issues that were
alarming. Most of them got positive response due to their efficiency in focusing on the target
problem. Whereas, few of them went through criticism due to the inefficient resources,
inaccurate plan and distraction from the targeted issue. It is necessary for the health campaigns to
relate with the culture of the country it is made for including the beliefs and health condition of
target population. The foundation of the campaign depends on the people implementing and the
people using it. A health campaign of a particular country shows the reputation and the lifestyle
of the people living as well as the economic and political state of the country (Pengpid et al.,
2015).
The health campaign chosen for this paper is National Steps Challenge by Health
Promotion Board (HPB) in Singapore as it was started to increase the physical activity of people
in the country as they had a sedentary lifestyle. It became popular and continued for several
years. This campaign was started in 2015 and the latest season of this campaign is from 26
October 2019 to 30 April 2020. This shows the sustenance of the program and the popularity
amongst the residents of the country especially in school students (hpb.gov.sg, 2016).
The National Steps Challenge is an innovative program to eradicate the issue of inactive
lifestyle of the people of Singapore by increasing their physical activity and tracking them
through step trackers provided by the HPB. This initiative was started in 2015 and it will
continue till 2020, this shows the longevity of the program. The importance of this health
campaign shows the health condition of Singapore, which is influenced by the culture. The first
year of the campaign had 156,000 participants from all age groups. The footfall of the campaign
in the initial years showcased the status of the previous health disparities and the upcoming

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awareness in the enhancement of health and wellbeing (Smartnation.sg, 2020). It was predicted
that this campaign will reach 250,000 Singaporeans in the future years. The National Health
Survey in 2010 said that 39% of adults were not able to achieve adequate amount of physical
activity and the Minister of State addressed the issue of Diabetes in the population of the country
(Choo, 2016). He said that the people were not open to going for regular health checkups, which
was the reason for non-communicable diseases like Diabetes Mellitus being a health
complication. National Steps Challenge involves a major use of Information Technology, which
makes it more renowned amongst the young population of the country. The tracker can be
installed in phones with the inclusion of HPB issued step trackers. The first time users have the
privilege to get a free tracker when they register for the challenge, but if they lost the tracker in
the next season then they have to purchase them again (Yew et al., 2015). Even after all the
terms and conditions, the number of participants increase each year. The participants will receive
this tracker and they have their target of steps that gets revised in every season. Every year new
participants join when they realize the importance of physical activity. New challenges are
started for the participants so that they are able to enjoy and get pleasure from strenuous physical
activity without getting bored. The enthusiasm to improve health and increasing physical activity
in our daily lives is reflected in this health campaign of Singapore. The cultural triggers influence
the campaign as it shows the culture of Singapore, which leads to the decrease in physical
activity of the population (Ding et al., 2016). This challenge has been a great help to the people
of Singapore as they are indulging in enormous physical activity to win this competition.
The culture of Singapore is a mix of European and Asian cultures that is influenced by
South Asian, Malay, Eurasian and East Asian cultures as this country is known as Garden City,
Easy Asia and where East meets West. The dietary intake of the country is influenced by its mix