by Natthaphon Sangpolsit

    

BANGKOK (NNT) - Health agencies recently tabled a discussion on the obesity situation in Thailand to mark the occasion of World Obesity Day. Speakers at the event disclosed that some 20 million Thais are afflicted by metabolic syndrome.

 

Dr Sanit Wichansawakun, a professor at Thammasat University Hospital, said obesity can lead to non-communicable diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease and cancer. She also said current efforts to tackle the issue have not been proactive, with most patients not realizing that obesity is a disease that needs to be treated.

 

Dr Sanit noted that people are instead placing importance on weight loss for beauty purposes, adding that the Thai public health system has yet to sponsor treatments for obesity under the reasoning that people can control their diet without seeing a doctor. She said successful weight reduction minimizes complications and lowers the cost of treating diseases.

 

Dr Ladda Mo-suwan, who represents the Association of Thai NCD Alliance, said more children under the age of 5 years are overweight than ever before. Consequences include joint conditions such as bow legs, slow movement, low sleep quality and developmental issues. Other health problems include respiratory and cardiovascular issues. Obese children are also four times more likely to die from chronic, non-communicable diseases than regular children.

 

Dr Ladda said affected children must regulate their diets and reduce sweets, as well as fatty and salty foods. Efforts should also be made to encourage children to be more active. Additionally, consumption of plain water and milk should be encouraged while sodas should be avoided.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-03-07

 

- Aetna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Do they mean fat?

Fitness and dietary awareness do not seem to be part of the psyche here. I know so few who consider exercising, working out, and keeping fit to be important. Especially those over 40.

 

And even fewer who read ingredient labels, or seem to care about low quality oil, MSG, and other potentially harmful items in their food. 

Thais were slim for generations eating rice, it's the junk food and drink causing this, fatty oily rubbish, i bet you obesity has increased in line with growth of number of 7 Elevens

Compare to other nations, i think that the majority of Thais are at normal body size, some showing signs of Buddha belly but like another poster said, it's the consumption of western junk food that got them there...

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Thais were slim for generations eating rice, it's the junk food and drink causing this, fatty oily rubbish, i bet you obesity has increased in line with growth of number of 7 Elevens

I agree with what you say. I would like to add another factor. Quite simply, Thais have more money today. Many Thais love to socialise by eating out together. This can mean ordering lots of food, trying new types of cuisine, buffet restaurants etc. All this eating out might be fun, but it's not good for keeping trim!

13 minutes ago, mstevens said:

I agree with what you say. I would like to add another factor. Quite simply, Thais have more money today. Many Thais love to socialise by eating out together. This can mean ordering lots of food, trying new types of cuisine, buffet restaurants etc. All this eating out might be fun, but it's not good for keeping trim!

I think everyone needs to rethink how they see food, see it as fuel only and not entertainment

3 hours ago, Thailand said:

Do they mean fat?

Look at some of them..before and way before.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Fitness and dietary awareness do not seem to be part of the psyche here. I know so few who consider exercising, working out, and keeping fit to be important. Especially those over 40.

 

And even fewer who read ingredient labels, or seem to care about low quality oil, MSG, and other potentially harmful items in their food. 

I wouldn't say that, in my village the jogging path 1 km is full of Thais in the evening, young and old, my missus (47) does 5 rounds every day.....I don't. 

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

I think everyone needs to rethink how they see food, see it as fuel only and not entertainment

That is really hard for some people, my GF and her friends from Singapore see food as entertainment and will go for high quality and price and stuff. Asians are like that they love to eat and socialize at the same time. 

 

I changed my diet since november back to what i normally eat and lost a lot of weight gained some muscle and so on. Its all about what you want and what your willing to do. Most people are not willing to change or to exercise so things will only get worse.

5 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I wouldn't say that, in my village the jogging path 1 km is full of Thais in the evening, young and old, my missus (47) does 5 rounds every day.....I don't. 

I'm also quite surprised about the amount of folks out and about 'staying healthy' early in the morning, at sunrise, everyday, and right after school & work hours at surfside and the local park.

 

Many more than I noticed in the USA, out exercising when living there.  Always notice the parks and green areas in Krung Thep, also busy, when there. 

 

Unless out of the bar, and out & about at those times, most would never notice.  ????

11 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I wouldn't say that, in my village the jogging path 1 km is full of Thais in the evening, young and old, my missus (47) does 5 rounds every day.....I don't. 

I seen enough Thais exercise where i lived too. It all depends where you look. Many people hate exercise and hate to limit their drinking or eating. 

 

If it was all the same id be eating pizza and kebab every day instead of oatmeal and veggies ect. Its all about choices and what you think is important. 

 

Its a fact that those who exercise stay mentally sharp for longer and usually have a better quality of life. But to get it you do need to put in time and effort. So not everyone thinks it worth it. 

 

Though most people make changes after stuff like a heart attack.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Fitness and dietary awareness do not seem to be part of the psyche here. I know so few who consider exercising, working out, and keeping fit to be important. Especially those over 40.

 

And even fewer who read ingredient labels, or seem to care about low quality oil, MSG, and other potentially harmful items in their food. 

Eating healthy is more expensive then eating junk food, unfortunately this is true. Just try to order a salad and then see what you can buy at KFC for the same price ????

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand to mark the occasion of World Obesity Day.

They claim to be number ONE. 

Purely anecdotal, but when I first came out in 1992 the sight of a fat kid was rare........now they seem quite common place, especially in Bangkok.........and a few of the kids in the village now have rotten baby teeth, something I don't recall seeing.

 

They would do well to ban these soda drinks..........six or eight bottles stacked up on every dining table tempting both kids and adults.

4 hours ago, Thailand said:

Do they mean fat?

More complicated than that, you have obese who look normal and overweight people in perfect shape. Metabolic syndrome is linked to insulin resistance, big stomach is one symptoms but fatty liver and visceral fat are not te same than subcutaneous fat.

To fix it : no more high glycemic index food, les carbs and , no more seed oil (linoleic acid).

Processed food love to use  sugar as it is addictive and cheap and seed oils are cheap and tasteless.

It's difficult to advice olive oil in Thailand but palm oil, coconut oil or ghee are better.

Obesity code by Jason fung s a must read on the subject they should translate it in Thai.

 

 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Dr Sanit Wichansawakun, a professor at Thammasat University Hospital,

In next weeks issue.........Dr Sanit Wichansawakun, a professor at Thammasat University Hospital discovers herb that reduces obesity by 95%.

 

So, no fat <deleted> in Thailand then, just lots of people afflicted by metabolic syndrome?

An off topic post trolling about India has been removed.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I think everyone needs to rethink how they see food, see it as fuel only and not entertainment

Your tongue may tell you that with words but when it encounters food, it's going to be saying something entirely different.

Actually, the biggest problem may be the overuse of antibiotics. In Thailand, you don't even need a prescription to buy them. There's lots of evidence how antibiotics alters the biome in the digestive system and can lead to obesity.

An off topic troll post using oversized fonts has been removed.

Eat to live, not live to eat.

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

Compare to other nations, i think that the majority of Thais are at normal body size, some showing signs of Buddha belly but like another poster said, it's the consumption of western junk food that got them there...

I will say that it’s also linked to increase alcohol consumption in Thailand. Alcohol can cause weight gain. Stop your body burning fat, high in kilojoules, make you feel hungry and lead to poor food choice. 

 

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I know so few who consider exercising, working out, and keeping fit to be important. Especially those over 40.

It's hot outside and you have to pay for a gym... 

2 hours ago, robblok said:

That is really hard for some people, my GF and her friends from Singapore see food as entertainment and will go for high quality and price and stuff. Asians are like that they love to eat and socialize at the same time. 

 

I changed my diet since november back to what i normally eat and lost a lot of weight gained some muscle and so on. Its all about what you want and what your willing to do. Most people are not willing to change or to exercise so things will only get worse.

"high quality" is debatable, more expensive for sure and junk most likely,just look at America, 25 years ago when i went there I couldn't believe how fat people could go, never seen it before

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

"high quality" is debatable, more expensive for sure and junk most likely,just look at America, 25 years ago when i went there I couldn't believe how fat people could go, never seen it before

Depends a bit they like sushi and stuff and quality beef. Those things are more expensive. Not really junk.

1 hour ago, placeholder said:

Your tongue may tell you that with words but when it encounters food, it's going to be saying something entirely different.

Have some discipline, very easy to form habits stuffing food

3 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

It's hot outside and you have to pay for a gym... 

Just walking for an hour is exercise too. No need to pay for a gym. If you want to exercise there is always a way. But most just look for excuses not to do it. 

 

I understand it as exercise is hard, though eating healthy is harder. I mean exercise is an hour or whatever but diet is all day long.

1 minute ago, robblok said:

Depends a bit they like sushi and stuff and quality beef. Those things are more expensive. Not really junk.

So they don't eat junk?