Thai health officials worried about growing number of fat kids

[PJ71]

18 minutes ago, wazzupnow said:

i blame kfc and lazyness 

Why only discriminate KFC, what about all the other fast food chains?

[HandsomeTallFarang]

3 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Sai Ua..  ไส้อั่ว  Northern Thai sausage are pretty good!

Yeah, but I didn't mean them, I mean the crappy 7/11 hotdogs that they love too. 

Back home Casper's all beef hotdogs or actual polish hotdogs were the way to go. Costco has a good hotdog with good ingredients, and even those are pretty unhealthy.

 

People over here are eating Dollar Store hotdogs, like a 10 pack for a buck level mystery meat hotdogs ????

[jacko45k]

Just now, PJ71 said:

Why only discriminate KFC, what about all the other fast food chains?

It does seem to be very popular with Thais.....

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

Yes but it is the amount of sugar they have in their diet.  The fatty junk food that you talk about is mostly made up of sugars and other <deleted>.

 

Mostly fat in lots of those foods which people ignore. Generations of Thais have eaten carbs\rice\sugar and stayed slim

[PJ71]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

It does seem to be very popular with Thais.....

KFC is definately more visible once out the big cities, almost every PTT has one these days, the newer ones for sure.

 

Heading North on route 21 i think the last one with MacDonalds / BK is Saraburi.

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, patman30 said:

7-11 is all too convenient

Yes a massive part of the problem and the fatty junk food it sells

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, Webfoot said:

Yes.  I have noticed the obesity problem raising it’s ugly head in a recent trip to Nana plaza.

Windmill agogo also

[nowhereman]

5 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Mostly fat in lots of those foods which people ignore. Generations of Thais have eaten carbs\rice\sugar and stayed slim

Thais in the past cooked mostly with saturated fat such as pork lard, only about 50 to 40 years ago they gradually switched to cheaper polyunsaturated fats such as seed and plant based oils, just like the rest of the world. As their food industry grew they've got trans fats too. Not to mention the increase of sugar and refined grain consumption, again just like elsewhere. They are actually just one step behind. For those who know Thailand for decades the difference is obvious.

 

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, h90 said:

You gain weight from eating too much. But with sugar or easy to digest carbohydrates you get much faster hungry after eating the same kcal...so you eat more. Or the other way around eating more fat is causing a more stable blood sugar without the spikes in both ways. So keeping slim is much easier.
Of course fat+sweet is the worst of both.
The point is the low fat products are actually making you fat.

It's easy to keep slim on high carb low fat, it's just different to how you do it and we know people don't like different

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, pjuk said:

I blame 7-11 and fast food.

When I first came to Thailand 40 years ago an over weight Thai child or adult was a rare sight, as were 7-11's and fast food outlets.

Would be interesting to see a graph of 7Eleven growth vs Obesity

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

One in ten Thai children is now considered obese, according to a report from the country’s Department of Health.

Looking at most of the street food, the processed rubbish in every store and the chiller cabinets full of sugary drinks should we be surprised.

[nowhereman]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Would be interesting to see a graph of 7Eleven growth vs Obesity

7-11 shops could be a correlation but certainly not causation.

[metisdead]

A post using ALL CAPS has been removed. 

[kwaussie]

Better nutrition taught at schools, more play time less phone time. 

[Dart12]

5 hours ago, Mikeyfromoz said:

Sugar and grains are pretty much the quickest way to add kilos/pounds, and yes, not moving much speeds up the weight gain...!
I left Thailand in 2016, after living there for 3.5 years,  I saw quite a lot of obese kids, and I saw what they ate (my wife's little shop was less then 100M from the school in her village)... sugar is definitely a huge (pun intended) problem in Thailand now...! ????

Basically 7/11 diet of processed foods, especially any and all drinks (95% of them all based around sugar ingredients)  including fancy coffees and teas (that traditionally would be some of the best drinks for you dietary wise - but no longer).  Same afflicition of western world

[Rimmer]

A derogatory generalization and replies has been removed

[Gknrd]

It is getting worse for sure. If you want to see fat ugly women the come to the US where I live. I come here for a couple or three months a year and cannot wait to leave. A few years ago in the town where I live a well known celebrity made a comment that the women were so fat here. It caused a riot from the women. It is absolutely disgusting.  SE Asia is the best place to see half way decent looking average women.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Gknrd

[vivananahuahin]

this is the real  pandemic, poor education, bad habits from parents, more of 2g sugar in a cookie is not good for inflamation, look when they come out of school they run to the cookies sellers.Incredible.

[mommysboy]

In my experience, we go on a lot about food but not the amount we eat, and if you are active you stay in shape regardless. 

[paulikens]

Even a doctor doesn't mention exercise.  Is exercise such a dirty word that even a qualified medic can't utter the word.  

[novacova]

11 hours ago, PJ71 said:

I blame technology.

 

 

Blame 7/11 & introduction of phatasss western culture garbage food, carbs and yes sugar 

[jvs]

We are so blessed now that more people on this planet are dying

from being obese versus dying from famine.

A truly horrifying milestone.

The eating habits of people have changed a lot thru the years but our bodies have not changed in the way it handled food.

Our bodies are made to gain as much fat(energy) as possible.

This was really needed in times where food was scarce in the off seasons.

Same way as many animals live,try to get fat before the winter and hopefully you will survive till spring.

We now need to regulate our intake because if we do not ,well just look around you.

You can never blame the kids and most times you can not blame the parents.

Thailand is now where the West was 50 years ago,a lot of sugary drinks

and the food industry is still looking for the sweet spot.

Thailand could learn from the West but it looks like that is not happening.

The governments are to blame really because they allow the food industry to poison our bodies.

Parents have no time or the knowledge to read labels,so they give into their kids demands.

Is being obese a disease?I don't think so .

Exercise does help to keep you in shape but losing weight thru diet is much easier.

Not gaining weight thru diet is even better of course.

Fast food is also cheaper then healthy food and it can be picked up on

the way home from work.

Since governments are bought and paid for by lobbyists all over the world i do not see anything really positive happening soon.

Fact is diabetes is on the rise in most countries and being normal is the new skinny.

Food industry and the health industry are the cause of loss of life in many cases,sad but true.

[DPKANKAN]

When I first came to Thailand in 2000 never saw a fat person.! Don't just blame sugar but all the western cr.p food outlets too!! Over the years younger chefs taste for sweetness changed the good Thai foods too!!!????????????????????????????????

[MaiChai]

Has anyone mentioned the Thai obsession with food? On a positive note that means its a fantastic place to live but on the negative side it means people are constantly eating and, well getting over weight. I am currently in Vietnam where there is a much larger population to consume a smaller amount of food, and it shows. Also Vietnam exports alot of its foods so there isn't much left for the locals!

 

I do remember 30 years ago Thais were also much slimmer having a mainly fish based diet, but the country progressed, more food was made available, everyone is generally better off and can spend more on food.

 

What to do? Sugar is definitely a problem; force manufacturers to use less sugar and replace it with artificial sweeteners? Educate mothers and grandmothers to stop spoiling boys (food and other things)? Tax sugar in drinks?

Edited March 6, 2023 by MaiChai

[BigStar]

9 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

There's only one way to reverse this. Get rid of all the American fast food chains (KFC, Mackas, Burger King etc) and the easy access to coca cola, pepsi and other sugary soft drinks.

No, one of the common forum myths. The vast majority aren't fat from eating American junk food. They're fat throughout Thailand in locations without fast food restos. Cokes etc. are too expensive to drink that much of.

 

Most posters have got it right, know what the kids are usually eating.

 

Once a week or so I have opportunity to pass by and glance out of a window into a soi where a group of about 6 neighborhood kids often play after school. If they're not actively eating sweets, they're carrying around and taking swigs from water bottles filled with, basically, flavored sugar water.

 

[ozimoron]

3 minutes ago, BigStar said:

No, one of the common forum myths. The vast majority aren't fat from eating American junk food. They're fat throughout Thailand in locations without fast food restos. Cokes etc. are too expensive to drink that much of.

 

Most posters have got it right, know what the kids are usually eating.

 

Once a week or so I have opportunity to pass by and glance out of a window into a soi where a group of about 6 neighborhood kids often play after school. If they're not actively eating sweets, they're carrying around and taking swigs from water bottles filled with, basically, flavored sugar water.

 

True. They're fat because of sugar. Nothing else causes fat. It's a world wide problem, not just Thailand.

[BigStar]

2 hours ago, paulikens said:

Even a doctor doesn't mention exercise.  Is exercise such a dirty word that even a qualified medic can't utter the word.  

Nowadays doc would be accused of fat shaming and lose a patient. Most people hate that idea. Anyway, though exercise has many important benefits, and I take it very seriously, it doesn't much help anyone lose weight. Diet is key.

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, BigStar said:

Nowadays doc would be accused of fat shaming and lose a patient. Most people hate that idea. Anyway, though exercise has many important benefits, and I take it very seriously, it doesn't much help anyone lose weight. Diet is key.

Doctors rarely, if ever, discuss diet with their patients. They just fix the symptoms, never the cause.

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, BigStar said:

Once a week or so I have opportunity to pass by and glance out of a window into a soi where a group of about 6 neighborhood kids often play after school. If they're not actively eating sweets, they're carrying around and taking swigs from water bottles filled with, basically, flavored sugar water.

Sometimes I think it's criminal what's happening to these kids. The results are already evident.

[ozimoron]

1 hour ago, BigStar said:

Sometimes I think it's criminal what's happening to these kids. The results are already evident.

A mate of time told me today at dinner that only recently are Australian doctors being forced to tell their patients that there are alternatives to metformin and insulin to fix diabetes, namely diet and exercise. I think that might be because the science which proves that is relatively new. As in clinical proof. Whether it's true or not (about the doctors) I don't know.