Love your Chinese New Year treats, just not too much

Lunar New Year celebrations may lead to health problems

It may be auspicious to eat and drink to excess during the Chinese New Year, from the traditional reunion dinner to festive treats like love letters and barbecued 'bah kwa' slices, but you might end up paying more for them than you first thought. Doctors are cautioning against excessive indulgence and to exercise self-control.

More people fall ill during and after festive celebrations due to health pitfalls. For example, Geylang Polyclinic sees about 20 to 30 percent more patients with acute conditions, and a five to 10 percent increase for chronic conditions like asthma during this period of time. "Normally we'll see more patients with acute infections. Things like respiratory infections like flu, colds. This could be more due to lethargy, exhaustion from all the partying, or being in close contact with people who've got these diseases," Dr Jason Chan of Geylang Polyclinic told Channel NewsAsia.

"Other people would be those with dietary indiscretion, so they may get diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting. And some patients with lung diseases like asthma, if they're too close to relatives who smoke, they can also get an exacerbation." 

Doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department said they saw a 25 percent jump in the number of patients on the second day of Lunar New Year in 2009 compared to the previous year. They're also seeing more patients due to falls and asthma ahead of the Lunar New Year period. Dr Chan Kim Chai from Tan Tock Seng Hospital attributes most of these cases to the spring cleaning, where people stand on heights. "During the spring cleaning, some people stir up the dust and thus get asthmatic attacks. During the Chinese and post-Chinese New Year period, people tend to overeat."

The takeaway from all this? Moderation in everything, people.