STATISTICS

Malaysia has now become one of the countries with the highest prevalence of obesity in Asia. Obesity has reached alarming level in the Asean Economic Community and especially in Malaysia where 44.2% of the population are overweight.

According to the Malaysian Health Ministry, one in six Malaysians are either overweight or obese. A recent study showed that 22% of Malaysians above the age of 30 were also diabetic patients. The daily sugar intake among Malaysians was too high, at 51 grammes, which is among the World Health Organisation reccommendation of 50 grammes. Interestingly, university studies revealed that women in Malaysia were satistically more obese than men, with a higher rate among Indian and Malay women compared to Chinese women.

According to WHO statistics, Thailand has the second largest number of obese people in Southeast Asia despite the traditional and generally healthy diet of rice, chicken, fish and vegetables in the country. This food mix has not disappeared but is seriously threatened by the availability of snacks and convenience food. It should also be noted that Thais, along with other Asian nations, prefer higher calory white rice as opposed to the more healthy brown types.

China is home to more than 300 million-plus people with weight problems and recent studies indicate that the problem is especially prevalent among youth. In 2005, there were 18 million in China who were considered obese. In 2011, that number jumped to 100 million. In this regard, Vietnam is catching up with China. While 28% of rural children suffer from malnutrition, according to the country’s National Institute of Nutrition, 20% from urban areas suffer from the opposite, obesity.

Based on the pie chart above, there are 57% that is equal to 16.45 million malaysians are in the normal state according to their BMI statement. Meanwhile, 29% that is 8.4 million malaysians are in overweight state and 14% that is 4 million malaysians are in obese state.

Overall overweight and obesity by age categories

Reference : https://penanginstitute.org/publications/issues/1029-obesity-in-malaysia-unhealthy-eating-is-as-harmful-as-smoking/