Malaysians should start off the new year by making better decisions towards better health, said Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai.

“If there are unhealthy lifestyle habits, make the decision now to stop them before it leads to poor health and diseases,” he said in a press statement today.

Dr Koh said among the most important steps to take towards improved health is a medical check-up with the family doctor.

“Medical check-ups should not be feared as better health begins with the awareness of one’s health status,” he added.

Dr Koh said personal management of health needs consistency and continuity to maintain or improve health as well as prevent any diseases from developing.

“Medical checkups, exercise and observing a healthy diet need to be regular to achieve the best outcomes possible. People are living longer and with better quality of life these days with these simple but important steps which require consistency.

“Follow-up appointments with your GP (general practitioner) or a specialist should be taken seriously as health status can change even within a short period. The health of older persons need to be closely monitored. Full compliance to prescribed medications are also important in the management of certain health conditions.”

Apart from that, Dr Koh said that Malaysians can also take full advantage of the health screening programmes under the government as some of the screenings can be costly at private healthcare facilities.

“Those diagnosed with non communicable diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension and such need to ensure their condition is properly managed because medication alone is not the answer.

“Lifestyle adjustments to diet, stress management and incorporating of daily exercise should be given equal importance.”

He said it is troubling to see many with diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases are still in the habit of smoking.

“Those in this group are ticking time bombs who are at serious risk of cardiovascular incidents like stroke and other life threatening diseases such as cancer and even complications if infected with Covid-19.”

Dr Koh advised those who continue to smoke in spite of the associated risks to quit smoking immediately.

“But aside from this, they should also be aware of the high cost of treating diseases associated with the habit of smoking.

“Very often we see families struggling to manage these costs of treatment which could have been prevented if better lifestyle decisions had been made much earlier,” he said.

For that matter, Dr Koh said that MMA’s vision is to have a reformed healthcare system for the country so that every individual in the population has access to quality healthcare with no one left devastated financially on account of a healthcare crisis.

MMA also hopes to see more beneficial changes to the nation’s healthcare system in 2022 and beyond.

Thus, he said all Malaysians must make better decisions when it comes to their health because for two years, they have seen the importance of good health in facing a pandemic.

“Let’s not wait for another surge in cases for us to wake up,” he added.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by MATTHEW UMPANG

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