Analysis of Obesity Crisis

Malaysia leads the prevalence of obesity among Southeast Asian countries. According to Malaysia Shape of the Nation (MySoN) study in 2010, the mean BMI for the men and women population was 25.62±4.73 kg/m2 and 26.63±5.72 kg/m2 respectively. This result shows that 34.2% were overweight and 20.4% were obese made up from 43% of adults, 20% of teenagers and 26% of primary schoolchildren based on WHO criteria for BMI. Obesity is highly associated with chronic and cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, stroke and heart attack. WHO made a forecast that in 2030, there would be a total number of 2.48 million diabetics compared to 0.94 million in 2000 in Malaysia.

There are few warning signs of obesity such as behavior, environment and genetic problems stick in Malaysians' lifestyle for a long time lead to obesity. Most of Malaysians do not maintain a healthy lifestyle. According to Dr Tee E Siong, president of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia (NSM), obesity crisis happened due to poor eating habits. According to health ministry's statistic, an average Malaysian eats the equivalent of 26 teaspoons of sugar per day. Besides, Malaysians also spend less time being physical activities. Lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle in Malaysia attribute to obesity. Most of Malaysians do not achieve the minimum level of exercise recommended for wellness.

To prevent the ‘fat phenomenon' in Malaysia, MASO was formed in 1994 under the name ‘Malaysian Society for the Study of Obesity'. MASO changed its name to ‘Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity'. The member of MASO formed of Nutritionists, medical doctors and other related health professionals. The objective of MASO is to enhance the understanding of obesity including the causes, manifestations, preventions and management principles through many local and international collaborative studies. Various researches and methodology to prevent obesity have been practiced. Yet,