Educating and sensitising children to take care of their health is crucial given the prevalence of lifestyle diseases across the Asia-Pacific, says AIA Group chief marketing officer Stuart A. Spencer.
Unlike in the past when communicable diseases like smallpox and yellow fever were the primary causes of death, it is lifestyle diseases that are claiming lives today, he said.
Spencer underscored the critical backdrop of lifestyle diseases in Asia, which include cancer, diabetes, stroke, hypertension and chronic lung disease, primarily caused by poor lifestyle choices such as unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
“Environmental factors like pollution and high stress levels also contribute significantly to this health crisis.
“In countries like Indonesia, the percentage of disease diagnoses related to lifestyle choices can be as high as 80% to 90%.
“The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated these issues, but it is clear that the primary health challenge in Asia is non-communicable, lifestyle-related diseases,” he said, adding that the proliferation of lifestyle diseases is partly due to a lack of proper guidance, education and positive influences.
Without these, people continue to make unhealthy choices that lead to chronic illnesses.
“The AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) programme aims to address this by educating and sensitising youths to the virtues of healthy behaviours so that they are better equipped to live healthier, longer and more fulfilling lives.
“The children participating in these initiatives represent the future for cultivating change,” he said.
AIA director of group brand Stuart Woolford said the AHS programme provides free downloadable educational resources created in collaboration with educators from across the region so teachers can effectively introduce health and well-being concepts into their classrooms.
“These resources are designed to be genuinely useful for teachers, particularly in the area of mental health,” he said, citing the 2024 AHS Thought Leadership Report findings that many teachers felt they needed more support to help their students cope with mental health challenges (see infographic).
The report also indicated that there were more than 560 million school-aged children across the Asia-Pacific region with 5.4 million children enrolled throughout schools in Malaysia.
Individuals with higher mental health literacy, the report read, were more likely to seek professional treatment.
“Teachers also expressed similar sentiments about the other wellness pillars, but they mainly emphasised mental health the most, especially after the pandemic.
“It can be difficult for schools to access high-quality resources, or for teachers to have adequate subject knowledge in the relevant areas, particularly with regard to mental health.
“These materials are readily accessible through our portal and adaptable in the classroom across each of our markets so that’s one way we want to support schools that push health and wellness in students,” he said.
Schools interested in registering for the AHS programme can find more information at https://ahs.aia.com/my/en, where teaching resources are also available.
Entries for the second edition of the AHS competition can be submitted from August this year.
