Singapore's Diabetes Problem - Is Hawker Food To Blame?

One in three Singaporeans may develop diabetes in their lifetime.

And I have heard many Singaporeans blaming unhealthy hawker food for Singapore's diabetes problem.

Hi I am Dr Chan, and from my experience coaching patients with diabetes to improve their eating habits to improve their blood sugar control and overall diabetes management, I would say it is wrong to blame Singapore's diabetes problem on the food options at hawker centres.

Watch the video below, or read on.

We Cannot Blame the Hawkers

I have been working with patients with diabetes in Singapore for many years. And I want to say it again emphatically: it is wrong to blame hawker food for Singapore's diabetes problem.

Because in doing so, we are actually saying something dangerous. We are saying that we have no control over our own food choices.

That is not true. And that mindset, more than the less than ideal food options at hawker centres, is what makes people with diabetes fail to optimise their blood sugar control even when eating out at hawker centres. Because in spite of the limited healthy options at hawker centres, we almost always have room for improvement in what we choose to eat there.

The hawkers have one job. To serve the food that people want, at the price people are willing to pay. What gets served at hawker centres across Singapore is determined not by the hawkers. It is determined by us. By what most people order. By what most people are willing to pay for. By what most people keep coming back for.

The Choice Is Always Yours

I remember a patient who said to me: "Doctor, I cannot control my blood sugar because I have to eat at hawker centres every day. That is the only option near my workplace."

I understood. But I told the patient this: regardless of where you eat, you still have a choice in what you order and what you put on your plate.

Yes, hawker centre food is not always the ideal choice for someone with diabetes. That is the reality and it is not going to change any time soon and it does not need to. Even though not every option at the kopitiam or the Cai Fan stall is the best choice for blood sugar control, we always still can choose better, we always still can mitigate that and still do better in minimising unhealthy blood sugar spikes when eating out at hawker centres.

There are always are choices that will spike your blood sugar less, even if they are not the most healthy or most nutritious. There are choices that are still a reasonable option even if you have diabetes. 

Your Choices Shape the Menu Too

Here is something most people do not think about.

If more Singaporeans started ordering healthier options at hawker centres, the hawkers would respond. Because that is how business works. If more people ask for healthier options, those choices signal to the hawker what people want.

Hawkers are running a business. They respond to demand. If the demand shifts, the menu shifts.

So every time you make a better food choice at a hawker centre, you are not just doing something for your own health. You are sending a signal that helps shape what gets into the menus at hawker centres.

Stop Blaming the Hawker. Start Choosing Better.

Singapore's diabetes problem is real. One in three of us may develop it in our lifetime. That is a number that should alarm all of us and motivate all of us to act.

But blaming hawker food is not the answer. It is an excuse that robs us of our own agency.

The food at the hawker centre did not give you diabetes. The choices made at the hawker centre over many years, compounded meal by meal, day by day, contributed to it. And that means choices, made differently from today, can also contribute to changing the trajectory.

Start with your next meal. Choose better. Every single time.

Eat well. Be well. Be blessed.

Dr Chan Tat Hon

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Video Synopsis

Filmed at a hawker centre in Singapore, Dr Chan tackles the common belief that hawker food is to blame for Singapore's diabetes problem. He argues clearly that this mindset is not only wrong but dangerous, because it robs Singaporeans of their own agency over their food choices. Whether eating at a kopitiam or a Cai Fan stall, the choice of what goes on the plate is always ours. And those choices, made consistently and wisely, are what determine our health outcomes.

Full Video Transcript

The following is the full transcript of the video above.

Is Singapore's hawker food to blame for its diabetes problem? One in three Singaporeans are at risk of developing diabetes in their lifetime. Is the food served at hawker centres such as this to blame? What do you think? Is hawker food the culprit? Is hawker food the reason why so many people in Singapore have diabetes and so many of us are at risk of developing diabetes in our lifetime?

Hi, I am Dr Chan. My answer: a big no. No, we cannot blame hawker food for our diabetes problem here in Singapore. We cannot blame the hawkers for something that we actually have control over.

As a medical doctor, I train and coach people with chronic diseases such as those with diabetes to change and adjust their diets to improve their control of their conditions. And I want to say that it is wrong. It is very wrong to blame hawker food for Singapore's diabetes problem. Because in doing so we are actually wrongly saying that we have no control over our own food choices here at the hawker centres.

It is not the job of hawkers to look after our health. The hawkers only have one job and that is to serve the kind of food people want and to sell it at the price that people are willing to pay. So the food at hawker centres is not determined by the hawkers. The food choices here at hawker centres are actually determined by us. The people who choose what to eat here. So what most people like, what most people order, what most people are willing to pay for gets served here at hawker centres.

We cannot blame the hawkers or hawker food for Singapore's diabetes problem. I remember there was once a patient who said to me: "Doctor, I cannot control my blood sugar. Doctor, I cannot improve the management of my diabetes because I have to eat at hawker centres all the time. Because at my workplace that is the only choice that I have." And what I told the patient was: regardless of where you eat, you still have the choice of what to order and what to put onto your plate. And even though it is a fact that the food at hawker centres is not the most healthy, the food at hawker centres is not the best choice that one can have if one has diabetes, but there are still options for us here at hawker centres that would be better choices. Choices that would spike your blood sugar less. That would still be a better option for diabetes.

We should not expect that everything that we choose here at the hawker centres is controlled by the government or determined by the Health Promotion Board. We can make choices here of our own that would be better for controlling and preventing diabetes.

So don't you agree? We cannot blame hawkers. We cannot blame hawker food for Singapore's diabetes problem. You and I have a role to play to shape the menu here at hawker centres by the choices we make. If more people choose healthier choices, if more people choose lower glycemic index choices, then the hawkers will react accordingly because that is business. The hawkers are running a business. So they would respond to what the consumers want. So if more people order healthier options, if more people are willing to pay more for healthier choices, there will be no lack of healthier options here at hawker centres.

So can I encourage you? We can choose better every single time at hawker centres. For example, the next time you order coffee here at hawker centres, go for kopi-O kosong. I am Dr Chan. Let your habits be your medicine. Eat well and be well and choose better at the hawker centres. Take care. Be blessed.

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