Food security report points to increasing malnourishment and obesity in Thailand

[snoop1130]

Food security report points to increasing malnourishment and obesity in Thailand

By Pratch Rujivanarom

The Nation

 

Experts and academics yesterday gather at the food security forum hosted by the BioThai Foundation.

 

MORE THAN 815 million people around the world still suffer from malnutrition and hunger – 6.5 million in Thailand – but on the other hand 25 per cent of the population in developed countries were obese, including 5 million in Thailand, pointing to glaring inequalities in access to food.

 

Biodiversity, Sustainable Agriculture, and Food Sovereignty Action Thailand Foundation (BioThai) yesterday published its 2017 annual report on the food security situation for Thailand, which revealed a worrying trend of a widening inequality gap in the access to food.

 

BioThai Foundation director Withoon Lienchamroon said that despite being a food exporting country, some 6.5 million Thais still did not get enough food and more than 600,000 children suffered from malnutrition, which affected their physical development. At the same time, the obesity rate had doubled from the last decade in Thailand and more than 5 million people were judged to be overweight.

 

Withoon said that this problem pointed to inequalities in society but said it was a global issue. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had reported similar findings that throughout last year the victims of hunger across the globe had increased to 815 million from 717 million in 2016, blowing away the aim to eradicate world hunger within 2030 as per United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

 

He stated that the worsening food security situation due to more frequent disasters and wars was happening at the same time when 25 to 27 per cent of the population in the developed countries had health problems from being overweight as a result of eating excessive food.

 

“The problem of food access continues to be a significant outcome of social inequality, as the poor have limited food choices and often do not get enough, but the rich enjoy the privilege of access to larger amounts and diverse varieties of food,” Withoon said.

 

“The lavish consumption also generates large quantities of food wastes. Statistics show that 449 million tonnes of food were wasted in Asia alone last year, and this food waste could feed millions of people who do not have enough food.”

 

He also warned that there were still many factors that could jeopardise food security for Thailand such as the planned enforcement of seed patents in the new Plant Varieties Protection Bill, which will ban farmers from collecting purchased seeds to regrow next season.

 

“Even though the plan to enforce this law was postponed by the former Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, there are still efforts to push forward this bill, because the Thai government will sign the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union and this law is one of the conditions,” he said.

 

“The other issue of concern is the government still does not ban the use of toxic chemicals in the agricultural sector such as paraquat and glyphosate despite many countries, including China and Brazil, already banning these chemicals that put consumers’ health at risk from chemical contamination in food.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30340610

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-3-9

[YetAnother]

12 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

pointing to glaring inequalities in access to food.

not access, basic , so basic, knowledge about food; aside from the glaring lack of knowledge , across the globe, by human beings, about their own bodies, lack of knowledge about food is 2nd worst

[MaxYakov]

“The lavish consumption also generates large quantities of food wastes. Statistics show that 449 million tonnes of food were wasted in Asia alone last year, and this food waste could feed millions of people who do not have enough food.”

 

I'd bet there are very few starving rats in Asia.

Edited March 9, 2018 by MaxYakov

[Cadbury]

Obesity is surely a problem in Thailand. I see examples of obesity many times in Bangkok when I walk past a Swensen's Ice Cream gluttony establishment in any mall.

[Lupatria]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

He also warned that there were still many factors that could jeopardise food security for Thailand

And the answer is: Fish from Fukushima???

[RichardColeman]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

but on the other hand 25 per cent of the population in developed countries were obese, including 5 million in Thailand

Considering many of the beer bars in Pattaya should now be called Bar Buffalo due to the amount of excess KG of show I fully agree with this report !

[Destiny1990]

Replace white rice for brown rice..

[Radar501]

Ironically, a fast food/slow digestion diet can result in both malnutrition and obesity in the one person.   You are what you eat.......thank you McDonalds.

 

[Xonax]

Import duties on imported healthy oils are still sky high, so only palm oil is affordable for cooking in Thailand.

[PatOngo]

The tentacles of American junk food have spread to every province, why kids love this rubbish I will never know. And that drink that comes in the red and silver can that is very good for cleaning rusty nails is not helping the obesity problem either!

[smew]

Obesity in Thailand was unheard of some 20yrs ago, remembered early 2000’s went for weeks without seeing one fat person, nowadays see one just about every hour while downtown Pattaya, and it’s getting more frequent 

[Ridler]

Not surprising considering the amount of 7-11 and Family Mart stores

where many people do their shopping and where there is not one piece of healthy food, everything processed.

ask a Thai kid what their favourite food is and many will reply KFC. 

Its rhe 21st century, the century of the fat and obese

[thaibeachlovers]

18 minutes ago, smew said:

Obesity in Thailand was unheard of some 20yrs ago, remembered early 2000’s went for weeks without seeing one fat person, nowadays see one just about every hour while downtown Pattaya, and it’s getting more frequent 

Just to be pedantic, they used to hold the Miss Jumbo contest many more years ago than 20, but overall, you are correct that obesity in Thailand is a new thing.

Not surprising when mom and pop shops sell mainly processed and high sugar content snacks and drinks, and Thais think McD's is a quality restaurant.

The real tragedy is seeing how many fat Thai kids there are, when they face a life of bad health, bad teeth and mobility problems, because their parents gave them <deleted> to eat.

[worgeordie]

1 hour ago, Xonax said:

Import duties on imported healthy oils are still sky high, so only palm oil is affordable for cooking in Thailand.

Or you could use Rice bran oil, 

regards Worgeordie

[uffe123]

What they really should discuss and concentrate on is the widespread use of banned pesticides on all crops and fruit which will kill-off the majority of this population in 10 to 20 years. There will be so may cancer and related diseased people that the hospitals will overflow. Add the pollution to that, which is 100% over the WHO limit of 25. And one thing is for sure the present Thai government will never give you the true facts/reading. The government is giving a daily reading of the particulate matter at 69 which is bogus. I check the report from a independent source and they are 144 particle, unsafe and bad.

This country is destined for self destruction.

[Brunolem]

1 hour ago, Radar501 said:

You are what you eat.......thank you McDonalds.

 

Half of the equation is missing: you are what you eat + what you do!

The fact is that people, especially young ones, exercice much less than before.

I am not talking about Thailand specifically, but everywhere.

Who walks to school these days? My generation did, and it was not 100 meters away from home.

My Thai wife also used to walk to her school, which is a few kilometers away from the village.

Of course, this is just one example, but it matters.

 

Andre Agassi, the tennis player, was known to eat a lot of junk food of the Mc Donald's kind, yet he was burning it quickly, and thus was not fat.

Warren Buffett, the 88 year old investor, has been eating exclusively cheeseburgers at all meals, and drinking exclusively cherry coke, for all his life (he is famous for that) and yet has never been fat.

 

What you eat is energy and what you do burns this energy.

If both don't match, then you have a problem.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Brunolem

[orchidfan]

The food markets and convenience stores are packed with SUGAR in the form of confectionary, biscuits, drinks etc and cooked food is mostly deep fried in (used?) palm oil..no wonder there is malnutrition, obesity and ever rising diabetes and a host of cancers!

[spidermike007]

There are so many things these absolute fools could be doing, if only they cared. Talking about it is one thing. Doing something is another. Real men and women act, they do not endlessly engage in blather.

 

The government could be educating the public about the horrors of white rice. Thailand produces a huge amount of gorgeous brown, red, and black rice, and some of it is organically grown. Just think of the difference that alone would make in the diet. White rice has virtually no nutritional value. It is only popular because of the obsession with white here. The 7/11 diet is a huge contributing factor also. No doubt the people are plumping up. 20 years ago it was rare to see a fat Thai. Now? 

 

As far as the malnutrition goes, I know little about that. All of the Thai people I see eat to their hearts content. But, there are some large slums in Bangkok, and chances are those folks do not eat too well. There are 900,000,000 people worldwide living in slums. No doubt there is great inequality. Is the Thai government doing one iota to address that? Does Little P. care one iota? The answer is absolutely not.

 

Little P. - Moving Thailand backwards at an astonishing, alarming, and breath taking pace. Not making Thailand great. 

[zzidenn]

I think next to obesity it’s also quite obvious that many people especially in Bangkok have really bad skin, acne, scars, etc. that’s also 100% to blame on the diet and pollution. Having greasy fried meat all around the clock, with a few spoons of msg and sprinkled with white sugar does that to you. 

Many foreign tourists still believe that thai food is “super healthy” ....I guess it used to be but it was less “delicious” .....  clean food is not a new thing, it’s what food is supposed to be and used to be.

[Stoker58]

There's a fundamental misconception here. Obesity is not an illness that affects the wealthy because they can afford more food than poor people. The wealthy, by and large, have healthy lifestyles and diets. Obesity is an illness associated with poverty, inactivity and a lifestyle based on junk food and TV watching. Likewise, malnutrition has less to do with hunger and more to do with poor diet....less fresh fruit and veg, more deep fried and processed shopping-mall food.

[howbri]

15 hours ago, YetAnother said:

not access, basic , so basic, knowledge about food; aside from the glaring lack of knowledge , across the globe, by human beings, about their own bodies, lack of knowledge about food is 2nd worst

The problem everywhere is animal protein and saturated fat. They make people fat and sick. Just look around you. Middle aged and older people are taking multiple medications/day for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, cholesterol. It's not unusual to see them take 10-15/day. It's the food folks. It's the FOOD! Plant-based eating is the healthiest way to eat on the planet. Google "plant based diet" and see what you get. It's a growing movement. I'm 75, plant-based, and take no medication. Just came back from 5 mi. (8km) walk.

[madusa]

I recently bought a tube of Vitamin C tablet and found to my dismay written on the side of the container is the words "contain Aspartame".

Do they have to put that poison on my Vitamin C? 

I don't see how anyone in Thailand can do anything about the big food industries. The big food industries are only interested in money whether your kids become sick, overweight or die is not important to them.

It's too late now for Thailand to reverse, to get the young people to eat good healthy foods is a dream.

Edited March 10, 2018 by madusa
add more words

[Grumpy Duck]

When home in the US I seldom eat at McDonalds. Some use the term "corporate mcdeath burgers" with pink slime and all. 

I find McThai to be better tasting but so expensive, I purchased a double angus cheeseburger combo extra size at mc thai in Fortune mall the other day, and was  when I saw my card was charged over $10.00 for one meal. I should really start paying attention. 

Also, Burger King advertized Flame broiled burgers. I have not seen one yet, they are pre cooked then nuked. I complained on fb once showing a photo of a real "flame broiled" burger and a Thai Burger King flame broiled (nuked) burger.

 I noticed lately at The Street they now say "flame grilled".  

I prefer to get fresh burgers at mom & pop type places such as Pastel Cafe just off Suttisan near Rachayothin a genuine fresh home ground broiled beef or pork burger cooked to order for only ฿70. Not mass produced patties. I see similar burgers around but much higher prices.

There used to be a great burger place at the train market behind Esplanade Mall. But I don't get to that area of the place so much as I have been addicted to Chef Zui ribs. A full rack, meaning two full sides of ribs for ฿600. The place is always packed. Usually great but occasionally not so much. 

But alas, I understand the night market will close for good after Sonkran. 

[IFinish]

38 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Half of the equation is missing: you are what you eat + what you do!

The fact is that people, especially young ones, exercice much less than before.

I am not talking about Thailand specifically, but everywhere.

Who walks to school these days? My generation did, and it was not 100 meters away from home.

My Thai wife also used to walk to her school, which is a few kilometers away from the village.

Of course, this is just one example, but it matters.

 

Andre Agassi, the tennis player, was known to eat a lot of junk food of the Mc Donald's kind, yet he was burning it quickly, and thus was not fat.

Warren Buffett, the 88 year old investor, has been eating exclusively cheeseburgers at all meals, and drinking exclusively cherry coke, for all his life (he is famous for that) and yet has never been fat.

 

What you eat is energy and what you do burns this energy.

If both don't match, then you have a problem.

 

 

Well said.

and dont forget the mega amounts of pan fried and deep fried grinds that get served up all day every day in the street stalls. 

Little to no exercise is problem #1. 

[Grumpy Duck]

45 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Half of the equation is missing: you are what you eat + what you do!

The fact is that people, especially young ones, exercice much less than before.

I am not talking about Thailand specifically, but everywhere.

Who walks to school these days? My generation did, and it was not 100 meters away from home.

My Thai wife also used to walk to her school, which is a few kilometers away from the village.

Of course, this is just one example, but it matters.

 

Andre Agassi, the tennis player, was known to eat a lot of junk food of the Mc Donald's kind, yet he was burning it quickly, and thus was not fat.

Warren Buffett, the 88 year old investor, has been eating exclusively cheeseburgers at all meals, and drinking exclusively cherry coke, for all his life (he is famous for that) and yet has never been fat.

 

What you eat is energy and what you do burns this energy.

If both don't match, then you have a problem.

 

 

Good post. I remember when I joined the Army (1970) I was 6'1" and weight was 145 lbs. For 2 months of basic training we would eat a high carb diet wait 45 minutes to digest then off for a round of vigorous PT (exercise) I was in the best condition of my life at 185 lbs. 

When in HS I usually missed the bus, so I would walk the +/- 1.5 miles to school. 

[jenny2017]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Just to be pedantic, they used to hold the Miss Jumbo contest many more years ago than 20, but overall, you are correct that obesity in Thailand is a new thing.

Not surprising when mom and pop shops sell mainly processed and high sugar content snacks and drinks, and Thais think McD's is a quality restaurant.

The real tragedy is seeing how many fat Thai kids there are, when they face a life of bad health, bad teeth and mobility problems, because their parents gave them <deleted> to eat.

 Around 40 % of the students at a bigger primary school in Ubon Ratchathani in the year 2010 were obese. But also a lot of adults with overweight can be found in almost all provinces. 

[Moonlover]

47 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The government could be educating the public about the horrors of white rice. Thailand produces a huge amount of gorgeous brown, red, and black rice, and some of it is organically grown. Just think of the difference that alone would make in the diet. White rice has virtually no nutritional value. It is only popular because of the obsession with white here. The 7/11 diet is a huge contributing factor also. No doubt the people are plumping up. 20 years ago it was rare to see a fat Thai. Now? 

 

I've been trying to get this message across to my wife and others ever since I've been here, but I might as well talk to a tree!

 

My wife's niece and two friends came to stay overnight a while back and my missus prepared three delicious dishes in readiness for them. When they arrived and sat down to eat, they filled their plates with rice and took tiny morsels from the dishes. the dishes were barely touched at the end of the meal. Basically, they had stuffed themselves with lightly flavoured rice!

 

I was at a street party recently and the local shop owner and her family, two young boys were there. Both the boys are grossly overweight and I saw why. Plate after plate of rice washed down with copious amounts  of Coca Cola! And the mother just sat and watched as her two sons ate themselves to disease, misery and an early death.

 

 

 

[NoshowJones]

43 minutes ago, madusa said:

I recently bought a tube of Vitamin C tablet and found to my dismay written on the side of the container is the words "contain Aspartame".

Do they have to put that poison on my Vitamin C? 

I don't see how anyone in Thailand can do anything about the big food industries. The big food industries are only interested in money whether your kids become sick, overweight or die is not important to them.

It's too late now for Thailand to reverse, to get the young people to eat good healthy foods is a dream.

Capitalism is the scurge of this world, not just Thailand, everything is money, money, money. Governments, hospitals, sport etc, etc, etc, is all money orientated just like fast foods etc. As long as there is plenty of money to be made, nothing will change.

[KIWIBATCH]

2 hours ago, Ridler said:

Not surprising considering the amount of 7-11 and Family Mart stores

where many people do their shopping and where there is not one piece of healthy food, everything processed.

ask a Thai kid what their favourite food is and many will reply KFC. 

Its rhe 21st century, the century of the fat and obese

The only healthy things in the Family Marts and 7/11's are condoms and water...and even they can be suspect

[billmichael]

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Replace white rice for brown rice..

Actually, I have tried it and the most delicious and nutritious rice exclusivly from Thailand is "Riceberry Rice".  It is positivley delicious.  It is purple and has the scent of berries.  It was developed by one of the Thailand universities (I cannot remember which).