Health & Living

The report card for Malaysian children’s physical activity levels is out, and the results are near failure. According to the Malaysia 2022 Physical Activity Report Card for Children and Adolescents , children aged 5 to 17 scored a D- in terms of their physical activity and health. This is one score that parents, teachers, the community and the government have to take responsibility for, as childre...

In this age of dating apps and swiping left, are romantic relationships what they used to be? Consultant clinical psychologist Paul Jambunathan joins us to discuss love and attraction in modern-day dating, and how to navigate the emotional ups and downs of being in a relationship. Image Credit: Daniel Pawer / Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To each of us, the idea of traditional Chinese medicine may vary depending on our cultural knowledge. But does it belong in our modern world of technology-driven healthcare? Denise Hung, a tutor at the Chinese Medicine Department in International Medical University (IMU), joins us to discuss the place and role of Chinese medicine in modern medicine, and how Chinese medicine abides by the principle...

Pimple popping videos are polarising: you either find satisfaction in watching them or you’re easily grossed out by them. And it’s clear that a lot of people do enjoy watching these videos, as we’ve seen with the popularity of the reality TV series, Dr Pimple Popper. With 9 seasons aired since 2018, Dr Sandra Lee, better known as Dr Pimple Popper, has made extraction videos popular in the mainstre...

The last Parliament sitting unexpectedly saw the much-discussed Health White Paper being passed by a voice vote. Said to lay the foundation for reforms to the public healthcare system in the next 15 years, what can the rakyat expect now that it has gone through Parliament? Who will be held accountable for the reforms promised and how will it be executed? We find out from Tan Sri Dr S. Subramaniam,...

Have you had a health scare recently? Maybe you contracted a bad bout of COVID-19, and you’re still experiencing distressing symptoms of long COVID. Or perhaps you received the diagnosis of a disease or had to undergo a major procedure in hospital. These experiences can affect your mental health, and lead to something called health anxiety - we discuss how to recognise the signs, and what are some...

 If you’re someone who usually fills the margins of your notebooks with doodles, you probably made those loops and lines while your attention wandered during a lecture, meeting or Zoom call. But is doodling a sign that you’re not paying attention, as our teachers used to tell us, or can it actually improve our focus and memory? Consultant developmental paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan, an...

Many of us would’ve first heard of lupus when Selena Gomez shared in 2015 that she has been diagnosed with the disease. An autoimmune disorder with no cure, people living with lupus - or medically known as systemic lupus erythematosus - have to find ways to manage their symptoms which can range from milder rashes to the point of organ damage. On this episode of NCD Chronicles , we speak to Dr Fauz...

For years, cholesterol was the buzzword in health circles. This fatty substance in the body received plenty of media attention, with the focus on how to prevent its buildup in the arteries. There were debates over butter, santan (coconut milk), and eggs, while a type of cholesterol-lowering medication known as statins became part of the public’s vocabulary. Despite all this attention, however, hig...

Teenagers in Malaysia are increasingly struggling with mental and emotional problems. According to the recently-published National Health & Morbidity Survey - Adolescent Health Survey 2022, one in four adolescents said that they felt depressed, while one in eight had experienced suicidal thoughts, and one in 10 had attempted suicide. Meanwhile, less than a quarter of Malaysian teenagers said t...

In Malaysia, more than 40,000 cases of strokes are reported each year, leaving many of these individuals with significant disabilities and health complications. So what can be done to bring down the incidence of strokes? We speak to consultant vascular surgeon Dr Yow Kuan Heng on how we can prevent strokes caused by plaque build up in the arteries, and how surgery is an option for some patients. S...

We’re doing a great job of protecting mothers during pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal mortality - deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth - has reduced dramatically in Malaysia over the decades. However, what happens to their emotional well-being and mental health after childbirth? The months and years that follow are arguably even more stressful and difficult as they struggle to raise their chil...

COVID-19 might be the most infamous infectious disease at this point in time, but it is by no means the only one that we need to worry about. From dengue to rabies, SARS to tuberculosis, influenza to HIV, infectious diseases can significantly impact a population’s health because of how it can spread from individual to individual. On this episode of Humans of Healthcare, we speak to consultant ID p...

According to the National Health & Morbidity Survey 2022 on Adolescent Health, 75% of teenagers in Malaysia reported having sex recently, but 88% are not using any contraceptives.  Our adolescents are sexually active - with many having their first sexual experience before the age of 14 - but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are equipped with education and information about their se...

Dengue is an infectious disease that many of us are all too familiar with in Southeast Asia. While we’ve yet to see an effective vaccine or even a cure, there is a lot of research and development happening behind the scenes to help us improve prevention, detection and treatment of dengue fever. In conjunction with ASEAN Dengue Day, we speak to two women spearheading R&D here in Southeast Asia,...

Our mouth is the gateway to the rest of our body, and hence an important gatekeeper to our overall health. Yet, oral health is often treated separately from other types of health, and isn’t prioritised when we look at population health and access to healthcare services. On today’s Public Health episode, we discuss whether dental care is within reach of everyone in Malaysia, and what can be done to...

How often has an older adult asked you to repeat what you said or to speak louder because they can’t hear what you said? We might think that hearing loss is part and parcel of ageing, but to what extent is it normal? Audiologist Ngiow Jen Sen joins us to discuss how we can spot signs of hearing loss among older adults and how - if left undiagnosed and untreated - it can impact the quality of life...

What is a child’s occupation? Is it to attend school and learn? To play with friends? And for children who have disabilities or are non-typically developing, what challenges do they face when it comes to participating in such occupations? Three occupational therapists join the show to share their role in supporting children with disabilities, including children with physical, sensory and cognitive...

How many of you go to a mamak and order a kopi or teh ais kurang manis? Or maybe you’ve chosen to switch to artificial sweeteners instead. Malaysians have long been warned about the need to cut down on our sugar intake, in a bid to tackle rising obesity rates and to reduce the risk of weight-related illnesses. But just last month, the WHO released new guidelines advising against using artificial s...

Everybody’s using ChatGPT, or at least talking about using it - whether it’s for academic writing, creative use, daily planning, coding, legal decision making, or healthcare, among others. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh joins the show to share his thoughts on whether the field of orthopaedics would benefit from the use of ChatGPT, and how healthcare professionals should face the ad...

When was the last time you were completely alone with your thoughts, with no one to talk to and nothing to do? You may think you did that just this morning when driving to work, or over the weekend when you went for a jog. But chances are, you probably had some sort of stimuli, like the radio in the car, a podcast playing on your earbuds, or social media on your phone. In a study by researchers at...

In medicine, healthcare professionals are always battling misinformation, especially when it comes to purported therapies and cures that circulate on social media. What are the risks of buying into such controversial information, especially when it contradicts medical advice from one’s own doctor? In this episode of Heart of Medicine, consultant cardiologist Dr Kannan Pasamanickam and consultant e...

Last week, the Dewan Rakyat unanimously agreed to abolish Section 309 of the Penal Code, which effectively means that attempted suicide is now decriminalised in Malaysia, pending the amendments being passed in the Dewan Negara and being officially gazetted. While this is a major step forward in addressing mental health issues, more remains to be done to strengthen our mental health support system...

In 2020, approximately 49,000 people in Malaysia were estimated to be newly diagnosed with cancer. This number is expected to rise to 66,000 new cases annually by 2030. More alarmingly, new patients in their late 20s to early 30s are also being diagnosed with cancer. We invite consultant clinical oncologist Dr Jenson Sow to tell us more about the trend of colorectal cancer among young adults, and...

Coronary heart disease is unfortunately a disease that many Malaysians are all too familiar with. Most of us likely know of a family member, a friend or a colleague who is on medication for it, perhaps even had a bypass or stent put in. But just how far have we come in treating coronary heart disease? How has treatment improved quality of life for patients? We find out from senior consultant cardi...