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NATIONAL POPULATION HEALTH SURVEY 2024 SHOWS SINGAPOREANS ARE ADOPTING HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES, BUT RISING OBESITY IS A CONCERN
17 October 2025
The Ministry of Health’s (MOH) National Population Health Survey (NPHS) 2024 has found that Singapore residents are adopting healthier lifestyles, with total physical activity and health screening rates rising and returning to pre-COVID levels, prevalence of daily smoking continuing to decrease to an all-time low, and a significant improvement in influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates.
2. The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension remains stable, while that for hyperlipidaemia has decreased over the years. That said, these chronic diseases remain a concern as prevalence rates are high, with about 1 in 3 Singapore residents continue to have hyperlipidaemia and hypertension.
3. There is also a need to sustain efforts to address the significant increase in prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2). While mental health challenges remain most prevalent among younger adults aged 18 to 29 years, Singapore residents have shown greater willingness to seek help for mental health concerns.
4. The NPHS 2024 reports the health, risk factors and lifestyle practices of Singapore residents aged 18-74 years tracked via household interviews from July 2023 to June 2024, as well as obesity and chronic disease prevalence measured as part of health examinations from July 2022 to August 2024[1].
Sufficient total physical activity has returned to pre-COVID levels
5. Compared to 2023, the proportion of residents engaging in sufficient total physical activity (TPA) increased significantly from 78.5% to 84.7%, marking a return to pre-COVID levels. Commuting was the largest contributor to TPA per week in 2024 at 51.6%, followed by leisure-time physical activity at 24.7% and work-related physical activity at 23.6%.
Chronic disease, breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer screening have returned or are gradually returning to pre-COVID levels
6. Screening participation in 2024 was broadly unchanged when compared to 2023 for chronic disease (62.6% in 2023 vs. 66.4% in 2024), breast (34.7% in 2023 vs. 35.2% in 2024), colorectal (41.7% in 2023 vs. 44.9% in 2024), and cervical cancer (45.4% in 2023 vs. 44.9% in 2024) screening. The longer-term trend shows that the proportion of eligible residents participating in screening decreased during the COVID-19 period, but is gradually returning to pre-pandemic levels. Participation in chronic disease screening (66.3% in 2019) and colorectal cancer screening (42.0% in 2019) has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels, while participation in breast (38.7% in 2019) and cervical (48.2% in 2019) cancer screening is gradually returning to pre-COVID-19 levels.
7. Eligible Singapore Citizens enrolled in Healthier SG can receive special subsidies for Healthier SG screening tests at their enrolled Healthier SG clinic. These subsidies cover the initial screening visit, screening test(s), repeat screening visit (if required) and one post-screening follow-up consultation.
Prevalence of smoking continues to decline
8. Prevalence of daily smoking has further decreased from 8.8% in 2023 to 8.4% in 2024, reaching an all-time low. Between 2019 and 2024, the fall is even more significant, from 10.6% to 8.4%. MOH will continue our efforts to keep smoking prevalence low through a multi-pronged approach consisting of policy measures, public education and provision of cessation support to encourage residents to lead a nicotine-free lifestyle.
Improved uptake of influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations
9. Self-reported vaccination rates for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines also increased from 2023. Among Singapore residents aged 18 to 74 years, influenza vaccination uptake rose significantly from 21.7% in 2023 to 28.2% in 2024. Likewise, pneumococcal vaccination uptake among residents aged 65 to 74 years increased from 35.0% to 49.7% over the same period. Vaccinations rates for influenza (17.4% in 2019) and pneumococcal (10.3% in 2019) vaccines also increased significantly between 2019 and 2024.
10. Singaporean Citizens enrolled in Healthier SG can receive special subsidies for influenza and pneumococcal vaccination at their enrolled Healthier SG clinic. We are also continuing public education efforts to raise awareness and increase uptake of these vaccinations. For example, SMS reminders are sent to seniors aged 65 and above to encourage them to make an appointment for influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations.
Diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia remain a concern
11. Compared to the immediate past survey (2021-2022) (diabetes 8.5%, hypertension 37%, hyperlipidaemia 31.9%), the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia in 2023-2024 remained stable. Between 2019-2020 and 2023-2024, the prevalence of diabetes (9.5% vs 9.1%) and hypertension (35.5% vs 33.8%) remained stable while the prevalence of hyperlipidaemia decreased (39.1% vs 30.5%). However, about 1 in 3 Singapore residents have hyperlipidaemia and/or hypertension, marking an area of concern.
Increasing prevalence of obesity among Singapore residents
12. The trends in obesity and mental health are of concern. The proportion of obese residents (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2) increased significantly from 10.5% in 2019-2020 to 12.7% in 2023-2024. However, the proportion of residents with BMI ≥27.5 kg/m2, who face a higher risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, remained stable over the same period, at 20.7% in 2019-2020 compared to 22.8% in 2023-2024.
Efforts to address obesity and prevent diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia
13. As unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity are key modifiable risk factors for obesity and chronic diseases, encouraging physical activity and promoting healthier diets continue to be key priorities for MOH and the Health Promotion Board (HPB). The implementation of Nutri-Grade labelling requirements has led to healthier options — median sugar levels have declined from 5.8% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2023 and 2024 for pre-packaged beverages, and from 7.5% in 2019 to 4.8% in 2023 and 4.7% in 2024 for freshly prepared beverages.
14. To further improve the diets of Singapore residents, MOH will extend mandatory Nutri-Grade labelling measures and advertising prohibitions beyond beverages to include key contributors of sodium and saturated fat from mid-2027. These products include prepacked salt, sauces, seasonings, instant noodles, and cooking oil. Together with HPB’s Healthier Choice Symbol programme and Healthier Dining Programme, these measures will better support Singaporeans in making healthier food choices. HPB also encourages eating balanced meals with the right proportions of different food groups with ‘My Healthy Plate’ as a visual guide, and controlling portion sizes to reduce excessive caloric intake. Promotional activities, such as the nationwide Eat, Drink, Shop Healthy Challenge, aim to generate consumer demand for healthier food, drinks and groceries.
15. To encourage regular physical activity, we will continue to leverage technology to encourage residents to sustain active lifestyles. Healthy 365 is a free health and wellness tracking mobile application developed by HPB to encourage users to adopt a healthier lifestyle through digital offerings, gamification, nudges and rewards. Every month[2], about one-quarter of our adult population (over 830,000 residents) use the Healthy 365 app to track progress towards their activity goals, access healthy lifestyle activities, receive recommended resources and programmes, and earn rewards from completing tasks/challenges.
16. Beyond digital efforts, HPB also supports residents with a variety of community physical activity programmes at various locations, including workplaces. Residents can take part in programmes organised by Sport Singapore, People’s Association and other community partners such as Active Ageing Centres. We will increase residents' access to physical activity programmes through partnerships and build up industry capability to offer more programmes. Additionally, residents can engage in self-directed physical activities supported by resources on HealthHub, such as online exercise videos or infographics.
17. In addition to ongoing preventive care efforts for the general population, there are structured weight management programmes available in both hospitals and primary care settings for overweight and obese individuals. Under Healthier SG, Singaporean Citizens aged 40 and above can enrol with a family doctor to receive personalised chronic disease care and obesity management. Enrolees who require weight management support will receive evidence-based guidance from their family doctors, including recommendations for appropriate lifestyle activities to help them achieve their weight management goals.
One in four young adults have poor mental health but there is greater willingness to seek help for mental health issues
18. Overall prevalence of poor mental health was 15.4% in 2024 and has remained stable. However, prevalence of poor mental health remained highest among younger adults aged 18 to 29 years at 25.5% in 2024. The proportion of residents willing to seek help from informal support networks increased significantly from 78.4% in 2023 to 81.8% in 2024. In the longer term, between 2019 and 2024, there was an increase in proportions of residents who were willing to seek help from informal support networks (74.5% in 2019 and 81.8% in 2024) and from healthcare professionals (47.8% in 2019 and 64% in 2024).
19. As part of the efforts under the National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, the government has continued to strengthen mental health support across all settings. To better navigate these services, the “First Stops for Mental Health” were introduced to provide a clear, "no wrong door" support for individuals in distress and facilitate easy access to mental health services. The national mindline 1771, a key First Stop service was launched in June 2025 to provide 24/7 mental health support via call, text and online chat. Efforts to equip people with skills to cope better and support others emotionally are also strengthened through the Agency for Integrated Care’s online mental health awareness courses and HPB’s annual campaigns and introduction of peer support e-learning.
Maintaining healthy lifestyle habits
20. The 2024 NPHS findings highlight the need for higher adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Having a healthy diet, increasing physical activity, managing stress and ceasing smoking reduces the risk of chronic diseases and other health risks. Going for regular health screenings and follow-up are important as having early detection and appropriate intervention allows disease onset to be prevented or delayed. MOH and HPB will continue efforts to support residents to take charge of their health and live healthier lifestyles.
21. The full NPHS 2024 report is available on the MOH website at https://go.gov.sg/nphs2024report.
Ministry of Health
17 October 2025
[1] NPHS Household Interview results are reported yearly and compared with other Household Interview results (e.g., NPHS 2019 vs. NPHS 2024). NPHS Health Examination results reported are aggregated over two years to ensure sufficient sample size, hence are compared with other aggregated Health Examination reports, (e.g., NPHS 2019-2020 vs. NPHS 2023-2024).
[2] This refers to the average monthly user from Jul’24-Dec’24. Adult population of 3.6mil as of Jun 24, aged above 15 years old (aligned with Healthy 365 app eligibility).