While many others may shy away from revealing their personal struggles, Mr Leong Yew Meng, CEO of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), does not hesitate to share how he overcame his weight problem. In fact, his personal experience has motivated many of his staff to lose weight. For actively promoting a healthy lifestyle at IMH, he recently won the inaugural H.E.A.L.T.H. Leader Excellence Award.

Mr Leong used to weigh a hefty 93 kg. His BMI exceeded 27, his cholesterol was at 237 mg/dL and his pulse rate was over 90 beats per minute. That was about one and a half years ago.

In May last year, he met Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan when Mr Khaw visited IMH during the SARS period. Not having seen him for 13 years since they last met at Singapore General Hospital, Mr Leong was impressed that he looked radiant and fitter than before. He learnt that Mr Khaw had adopted a regular exercise regime and a healthy diet.

That started him thinking about his own health and he decided to embark on a rigorous exercise programme. He began jogging and visiting the gym five times weekly. Within five months, he lost 10 kg.

Now, even though his cholesterol level has plunged below 200 mg/dL and his pulse rate is a healthy 60 beats per minute, Mr Leong still exercises regularly. He runs thrice weekly, covering 20 km in total. He also goes to the gym at least once a week.

CEO walks the talk
H aving experienced the benefits of losing weight, Mr Leong was keen to share the message with his staff, of which 1 in 10 were obese (BMI >30).

He told them: “Happy people are not necessarily healthy, but by and large, most healthy people are happy. Once you make an effort to stay healthy, there are a lot of benefits that come with it.” He believes that people with the discipline to maintain a healthy lifestyle generally have a positive outlook towards life. They are also more self-disciplined and determined to achieve what they want in life.

Actions speak louder than words
To galvanise staff to exercise, Mr Leong made a point to support the many programmes organised by IMH’s Healthy Lifestyle Committee.

For example, he turned up at the start and end of the PERKs initiative (see following story) to share his experience and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. He joined the month-long Active Day activities, inter-department games and represented IMH in the inter-hospital table tennis contest.

The hospital’s newly launched jogging club — Club 303 — was also his idea. Mr Leong is one of the club’s 29 inaugural staff members who qualified by running three rounds around IMH (about 4.8 km) within
30 minutes.

The ripple effect
Under Mr Leong’s leadership, IMH’s health promotion drive has seen impressive results. In fact, the hospital bagged the Gold H.E.A.L.T.H. Award this year.

The healthy lifestyle culture is fast permeating the hospital. Now the staff are even reaching out to patients. Recently inter-ward table tennis games were organised, which saw Mr Leong and the staff enthusiastically rallying with the patients.

What’s more, IMH’s initiatives are impacting the community. For example, one staff lost 10 kg through PERKs and started sharing the healthy cooking tips she learnt with her friends, neighbours and relatives.

The power of change
Mr Leong is encouraged that his personal efforts to help staff lose weight have made a difference.

“As a CEO, I can just give my staff a budget to promote a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “But to make a great impact, it’s very crucial to believe in it, commit to it and walk the talk.”

He looks forward to bringing down the BMI of his staff even further with future plans such as Club 606 and more inter-department games.