A roadside newspaper seller in Yangon displays several popular health journals. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

MAINTAINING your health and wellbeing can be a daunting task for anyone.

Many people must juggle work and family commitments and seldom have time to worry about their long-term health.
But if people consider the adage: “Prevention is better than a cure”, many serious problems that occur later in our lives can be held at bay by keeping a close watch on our health now.

Myanmar is lucky to be well supported by a number of health journals that offer guidance and information on how to live a healthy life without heaping more pressure on already overtaxed schedules.

“If people read health journals and follow the instructions in them they will stand a much better chance of staying healthy,” says Dr Khin Moe Moe, chief editor of Good Health journal.

Dr Aye Kyaw, chief editor of Family Health journal, says health journals help to provide information to the public that people would normally have to ask a doctor about.

“Although we wanted to raise awareness about health many years ago, we could only guide patients who visited us in person but now the journals do this,” says Dr Aye Kyaw.

According to the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), there are five health journals on the market.

“Reader demand has been increasing in the last few years. To keep up with this demand we are attempting to target as many readers as we can,” Dr Khin Moe Moe says.

Good Health is not alone: Most journals try to cover as many different topics as possible to broaden the general health knowledge of readers.

“We put the latest local and foreign health news in our journal to help our readers avoid problems and diseases. We include information and advice on healthy exercise, proper skincare, relaxation, dieting and many other topics,” Dr Khin Moe Moe says.

A Health Digest spokesperson says many people forget how the importance of their health in their drive to be successful.

“Everybody wants to be successful in their life but they forget to pay attention to their health. They seem to forget that success in life is often linked to keeping fit and well,” says a Health Digest spokesperson.

Readers of health journals agree on the awareness-raising benefits of the publications.

“We didn’t know the meaning of a well-balanced diet before we started reading health journals.

“Now we understand that it means consuming meals that cover the five food groups,” says Ma Thidar Oo.

She says she values the guidance provided in the journals and buys them every week. And she collects too so that she can refer to them in the future.
Dr Aye Kyaw says healthy eating is one of the most important subjects for Family Health.

“Most people simply don’t understand the role of the different food groups in keeping our bodies healthy.

“We put lots of information regarding nutrition in our journal to show the public what kinds of foods they should be eating regularly,” he says.

Another reader, Ma Nandi Thaw, says she was stunned when she read that potato chips were extremely unhealthy for her.

“I was surprised when I read that potato chips can increase our cholesterol levels because I always eat them as an evening snack.

“But after reading that information, I have avoided them and warned my friends about it too,” she says.

Ma Nandi Thaw says the advice can occasionally be conflicting.

“One week a journal recommended eating a particular type of food but then turned around and said it could cause disease in the following edition. So I didn’t know whether I should eat it or not,” she says.