Food problems of the Malaysian kind

The Health Ministry had been concerned over the nutritional content of the popular traditional
dish. -NST

Fri, May 06, 2011
New Straits Times
By Chok Suat Ling
THESE past two weeks have been particularly eventful. In Britain, the prince has married his
princess, and everyone has taken a long look at The Dress, and the bride's shapely younger
sister. In Pakistan, the icon of world terrorism, Osama bin Laden, was killed by United States
covert forces after a decade on the run. This not only sparked an explosion of joy around the
world, but also caused numerous flubs by news anchors.
An American newscaster, following US President Barack Obama's speech, said: "President
Obama, speaking from the East Room of the White House, telling the nation and the world --
President Obama is in fact dead". Another from Sky News announced that Obama was buried
at sea.
In Singapore, an election campaign is in full swing, and, in Malaysia, people are arguing over
nasi lemak. Indeed, Malaysians take food very seriously.
It all started when an announcement was made that the sale of nasi lemak might be banned, or
at least curtailed, in school canteens.
The Health Ministry had been concerned over the nutritional content of the popular traditional
dish and that it might make schoolchildren obese.
Many quarters objected to the statement. Their emotional outburst, while understandable, is
unfortunate.
As National Heart Institute chief dietician Mary Easaw-John put it: "Twenty years ago, we
worked out the food we ate but now, children have a very sedentary lifestyle.
"We have to make the decision whether we want healthy children or sit with them in the
hospital later on in life."
Obesity is a big concern in Malaysia, second only perhaps to the proliferation of sex videos
featuring prominent politicians.
For many kids these days, Happy Meals has become one of the four food groups. Statistics
show one out of four children is either overweight or obese. One out of three teenagers is
overweight, while one out of six is obese.
It's no wonder Malaysia has earned a spot in the "World Map of Obesity".
Childhood obesity levels in Malaysia are higher than in most Asian countries as well as
developed nations such as Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany.
It is so widespread that there is even a Facebook group for obese kids called "Fat Kid Nation".
Its tagline -- "Fat kids are harder to kidnap", and its aim -- "To satisfy our fat kid tendencies".
But unless we stop cheering The Biggest Loser and start getting serious about preventing
obesity, we risk being overwhelmed by chronic disease and ballooning health costs.
Blaming McDonald's or Burger King for a child's eating habits is like blaming Nintendo for a
kid's sedentary lifestyle.
Parents must take responsibility for what their children eat.
If your kid weighs as much as a small aeroplane by the time he's 4, it may be time to change
his eating habits.
At the same time, attention must be paid to a related disease which is also on the rise -- eating
disorders.
While the obese are under pressure to lose weight, "normal" people are also under intense
pressure to keep up with current cultural standards of an ideal appearance.
Women are especially predisposed to this. Put them together in a group, forum, or summit and
the conversation will eventually revolve around how fat they are.
The findings of a recent study by Universiti Malaya Medical Centre was surprising -- 14 per
cent of the teenagers surveyed were underweight.
"So, in addition to the problem of Malaysians being overweight, there is also the problem of
underweight Malaysian adolescents," said Dr Muhammad Yazid Jalaludin.
Being thin is in and many are dying to emulate fish sticks impersonating as celebrities -- Paris
Hilton and Victoria Beckham.
There are thousands of pro-anorexia websites on the Internet offering "thinspirations", created
by and for a disturbed community of anorexia sufferers who rely on Internet information to
help them lose weight.
So serious is the problem that the Italian edition of Vogue recently launched a campaign to
stamp out such pro-anorexia websites.
People are genetically predisposed to be larger than model-thin, and standards of ideal beauty
are arbitrary.
Unless one is obese and suffering from a life-threatening ailment or worse, unable to get out
of a chair without the help of a hydraulic crane, there shouldn't be any pressure to lose weight.
Just don't overdo it on the nasi lemak.








Summary