More Malaysians becoming obese; fast-food to blame

The United States may be dubbed as the “fast food nation”, but Malaysia is also struggling with a similar problem.

Studies have suggested Malaysia is Southeast Asia’s most obese nation, partly thanks to its version of fast food joints – the 24-hour roadside stalls. But there’s still hope yet – with some Malaysians turning a growing desire to get fit into thriving business ventures.

The Southeast Asian nation takes pride in being a culinary haven, drawing on its diverse cultural heritage to serve up rich, colourful dishes. But these often greasy or sugar-laden favourites may have won Malaysia a less impressive title: That of the most obese nation in Southeast Asia.

“WHO figures also show that we are currently number one in Southeast Asia in terms of the problem and number 6 in Asia,” said Dr Mohd Ismail Noor, president of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity. “This is a problem that we have; the food environment is just too good to be true basically. We can eat practically anything.”

Dr Mohd believes Malaysia’s famous and cheap 24-hour eateries are not helping the problem either.

“That is not present in most countries in the world. We do have an option, they’ve given us an option. You can go out to the street at 3 a.m., and still have very solid meals,” he said.

But in cities like Kuala Lumpur, health consciousness is on the rise. It has paved the way for sold-out fitness boot camps and hugely popular healthy lunch delivery services, such as a local food joint which sees repeat customers for their salads.

The Malaysian government is not making light of its big problem either. Last year, it launched Fit Malaysia, a campaign to spur Malaysians to lead more active lifestyles.

Category: Health alert, Top Story