MALAYSIA tops the World Population Review 2023 as the most obese nation, at 15.6% of the population, in Southeast Asia. Brunei trails behind at 14.1%.

Many assemblymen, members of parliament, ministers and their deputies are overweight or obese.

Surprisingly, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is unperturbed by the ghastly appearance of politicians serving in his administration.

This leaves Malaysians wondering whether health and fitness are important to the leader.

The numbers are damning. The Malaysia Obesity Society has revealed that 19.7% of Malaysians are obese.

Come 2030, Malaysia will have 23.4% adults living with obesity.

Equally disturbing is the rise in childhood obesity; 29.8% of children aged between five and 17 are overweight (15%) or obese (14.8%).

The 2019 National Health and Morbidity Survey has reported a 50.1% prevalence of overweight and obese adults (30.4% overweight, 19.7% obese).

The National Health Screening Initiative (NHSI) 2023 found that 31.3%, or 283,100 people, screened were overweight with a BMI of over 25kg/m2.

It found that 22.2% (199,400) more were obese with a BMI of more than 30kg/m2.

This means that 53.5% of the Malaysians screened were either overweight or obese.

The NHSI 2023 figures were released by then health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa in a written Dewan Rakyat reply last November.

She said since the inception of NHSI in July 2022, more than 62,000 (10.6%) of people who were yet to be diagnosed with diabetes had high blood sugar levels with a glucose reading of more than 7.8mmol/L.

Overweight cops

In February, Kuala Lumpur police chief Allaudeen Abdul Majid said 3% of the 10,000 police members under his command had an unhealthy body mass index.

A concerned Allaudeen instructed overweight cops to drop the extra pounds “as soon as possible.”

“The police face demanding tasks and maintaining good health, fitness and activity levels is crucial. I hope all my officers can stay free from illness and maintain a professional appearance in uniform,” Allaudeen had said.

In 2016, police management director Zulkifli Abdullah was quoted as saying that the police force had 11,000 obese cops and that the number was a “conservative” estimate.

Zulkifli said overweight cops must undergo a fitness programme because obese officers would not be promoted or confirmed if they did not lose weight.

While there’s no denying that Malaysia’s scrumptious food will tantalise the taste buds, keeping obesity at bay is an option for most people.

Succumbing to obesity is a choice. The sooner Malaysians understand this, the better their chances of being free from lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. – May 23, 2024.