Dr Rajbans is a physician and the first geriatrician in Malaysia with 30 years of experience in the profession. He focuses on wellness, which is more than health. “You may be healthy, but you may not be well” he said. Wellness focuses on prevention. It means taking steps to prevent diseases from developing in the first place. He said that many people spent a lot of time and money maintaining their cars, but when it comes to their own health and well being, they don’t do the same. “This is really very sad because the average life span has more than doubled in the last 80 years, but acute diseases are no longer the major cause death. Today, one dies from chronic diseases, degenerative diseases, metastatic cancer, immune deficiencies and other diseases which prolonged disability, immobility and dependency.” Some of the statistics he showed about obesity and degenerative diseases like diabetes in Malaysia are really quite disconcerting.
Dr Rajbans is on a mission to help Malaysians adopt a healthy lifestyle through proper exercise and diet to maintain a healthy body. He shared his own testimony about how he has to battle his overweight problem and looking at him today, he sports a trim and youthful looking figure which belies his age.
Some important aspects to note when considering your fitness routine are:
– cardiovascular activities such as aerobics to promote optimum heart health
– weight bearing exercises to help improve muscular and core strength
– exercises that help promote flexibility such as yoga

He concludes “The simplest thing that you can do is just eat ‘simple’ foods that have not been processed, genetically modified or injected with chemicals. Eat something that your grandma can recognize.”
Judging from the participation of the audience, there is certainly not a lack of interest in the subject. There was an endless stream of questions ranging from types of exercise, role of supplements, detoxification, drinking coffee to the recommended books. Dr Rajbans recommends three books for further reading:
1) “10 secrets of healthy aging” by Patrick Holford
2) “Stay young stay healthy” by Dr Vernon Oz
3) “Fantastic voyage” by Ray Kurzweil