Study Rings Alarm: Thai Children Face Rising Obesity Crisis

[snoop1130]

File photo for reference only

 

In a troubling revelation, a recent study has highlighted that Thailand ranks as the third worst in the ASEAN region for childhood obesity, trailing only Malaysia and Brunei. A staggering 13.4% of Thai children aged six to 14 are impacted by obesity amid poor dietary habits, with over 84% of them regularly consuming salty snacks.

 

To address this urgent dilemma, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) has joined forces with the Public Health Ministry and other organisations to spearhead a campaign aimed at fostering healthier eating habits. Dubbed "Don’t Let Children Become Obese," this initiative features a high-profile event held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

 

This gathering showcased innovative strategies to wean the youth off sweet, fatty, and salty foods, emphasising the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Yanee Ratborirak, acting director of ThaiHealth, outlined the alarming statistics that led to the campaign's urgency.

 

 

Echoing this concern, Sa-nga Damapong of the Nutrition Association of Thailand praised the initiative, noting its considerable impact over the past five years. He stressed the critical need for media and methods that effectively encourage children to embrace a more balanced lifestyle, integrating both healthy nutrition and increased physical activity.

 

As experts ring alarm bells over childhood obesity, the focus must tilt towards nurturing a cultural shift towards healthier behaviours, involving schools and community stakeholders in this vital endeavour.

 

-- 2025-01-17

 

 

[hotchilli]

Get rid of all the sugar in food/drinks and witness the difference

[organicman]

Western poison has hit Thailand like most of the world today. 

 

It's the leading cause of health problems in the world where corporations only care about their profits and lobby (NATO) the governments. 

[organicman]

33 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Get rid of all the sugar in food/drinks and witness the difference

 

If excess sugar can put holes in your rock-hard teeth, can you imagine what it's doing to your organs and body!

 

The problem also is when you have too much sugar, eating healthy food tastes like <deleted> cause your taste buds have been overstimulated. 

 

Sugar is a drug, and experts say excess sugar is the cause of 90% of health problems. 

 

When you wake up to the fact that corporations run the world and only care about profit (you being a slave to their product), you can break free cause true power comes from self-control in life. Be a sheep or be a free man! 

 

They killed religion and spirituality cause with true peace and happiness, it requires no stimulation. 

[kwaussie]

So many cheap snacks at 7/11 etc that children should be taught at schools at the importance of eating healthy.

[roo860]

Parents encourage it.

[fredwiggy]

10 minutes ago, kwaussie said:

So many cheap snacks at 7/11 etc that children should be taught at schools at the importance of eating healthy.

Children should be taught at home first, about everything necessary for life. Schools should follow up on this because many parents don't know, or don't care about nutrition for themselves or their families. With many single parent families worldwide, the situation is harder because one parent might be into healthy living while the other eats whatever they want without concerns, and the kids like sugar so you know what wins out. Stores and companies know sugar sells more food, and since they are only into it for profit, they put more into the food than is necessary, because people get addicted to sweets. The problem with all of this is the obesity level has been increasing everywhere, along with SE Asia. In my own life, I eat healthy almost 100% of the time, with only an occasional cheat. This I've shown to all my children, including the 8 year old here. The other side, where my daughter also lives, gives her snacks a lot, because they also eat them and don't understand, nor care, what that does to a child's thinking.

[bkk6060]

KFC and Mc D are not good.  But, Thai food is full of fat, grease, oil and sugar.

Add white rice and the 800 calorie sugar teas, coffee, and bubble drinks Thais like to suck on. Terrible. 

[Andre0720]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

File photo for reference only

 

In a troubling revelation, a recent study has highlighted that Thailand ranks as the third worst in the ASEAN region for childhood obesity, trailing only Malaysia and Brunei. A staggering 13.4% of Thai children aged six to 14 are impacted by obesity amid poor dietary habits, with over 84% of them regularly consuming salty snacks.

 

To address this urgent dilemma, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) has joined forces with the Public Health Ministry and other organisations to spearhead a campaign aimed at fostering healthier eating habits. Dubbed "Don’t Let Children Become Obese," this initiative features a high-profile event held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

 

This gathering showcased innovative strategies to wean the youth off sweet, fatty, and salty foods, emphasising the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Yanee Ratborirak, acting director of ThaiHealth, outlined the alarming statistics that led to the campaign's urgency.

 

 

 

Echoing this concern, Sa-nga Damapong of the Nutrition Association of Thailand praised the initiative, noting its considerable impact over the past five years. He stressed the critical need for media and methods that effectively encourage children to embrace a more balanced lifestyle, integrating both healthy nutrition and increased physical activity.

 

As experts ring alarm bells over childhood obesity, the focus must tilt towards nurturing a cultural shift towards healthier behaviours, involving schools and community stakeholders in this vital endeavour.

 

-- 2025-01-17

 

 

I do not believe that it will be possible to change the Thai culture as it relates to the food that they eat.

Everything is about sugar (now widely considered as a poison), and cheap seed oils (now widely considered as unhealthy).

If for most Thais living in non-rural areas, the source of their food is from small restaurants, cooking as cheap as possible, with these added sugars and salts as taste enhancers, and cheap oils, heated to a point of toxicity, all delivered to your home by the Grab type of service. And with a great choice of ultra-processed foods, so convenient to calm the appetite of the young ones.

And they like it that way.

So eating healthy here, it will not happen.

 

I went to all restaurants and asked if they had food with no sugar. It does not seem to exist, of if so, difficult to find in Thailand. And actually, they are surprised that anyone would ask such a question.  All food is laced with refined sugar, or contains sauce from a bottle, that contains typically some 20% of refined sugar.

I asked many restaurants if they had food with no sugar. Then i realized that nobody reads what is inside the bottled sauces that they buy. One lady told me that there was no sugar in her Pad Thai. So I asked what was in the red sauce in her pad Thai. She answered 'Ketchup'.

So I stopped eating Thai food, entirely. I do my own cooking.

No refined sugar in my apartment, and no bottled sauce. No ultra-processed food either.

Healthy food is described as fresh fruit and vegetables, Food that is fresh in the sense of 'alive'. And food that will not die, is because it is not 'alive'.

Anything that you can keep for weeks or months, is not dead food. Ketchup is the reference item. It will simply not die.

And now there are experiments with even 'burgers', kept on a shelf. And remains looking good for many days. So how much chemical products do we add the sugars and seed oils, and processed foods.

 

If one eats Thai food, it is impossible to not eat these poisons. Bon appetit...

 

And if you combine that with the lack of exercise of the new generation, too focused on the I-Phone screen, the result is seen on the body of people, particularly children and women.

As men seem to have a better shape than their female counterpart, primarily (I would presume), because they are the ones with jobs that require to be active.

There is a reason for what is happening to people here. And the obesity will soon be accompanied with diabetes and coronary heart disease. Soon.

[save the frogs]

Junk food tastes too good and is highly addictive.

 

Impossible for kids to resist. 

 

Even most adults will not cut out junk until they face a health scare. 

 

 

[mfd101]

In my observation, I seldom see anyone obese here at the edge of the jungle.

 

Mainly (not entirely) a city and 'middle class' problem.

[KhunLA]

Don't think you need a study, just open one's eye.  Little porkers are everywhere.

 

See a group of kids, and half will have a sugary drink in their hand.  In the other hand is a smartphone, replacing any physical activity.

 

As a youngin, even a poor teen, we use to walk or cycle everywhere, not driven around.

[harryviking]

Thai parents think that children can eat as much sweets as they want! But who has informed these parents about what dangers lies ahead for these children when they grow up?? NO ONE!!! No wonder obesity and diabetes is a plague in Thailand. 

[phetphet]

2 hours ago, organicman said:

Western poison has hit Thailand like most of the world today. 

 

It's the leading cause of health problems in the world where corporations only care about their profits and lobby (NATO) the governments. 

I think Thailand is far worse than the west in this case. They put sugar in everything.

I have lost  count of the amount of times I have sent food or drink back after ordering with no sugar. They just can't help themselves. 

 

Those Thai teas are something else. 

[Lacessit]

It's a measure of the Thai addiction to sugar Thailand cannot grow enough of its own.

 

Mitrpol, the country's biggest sugar producer, has bought a controlling interest in four Australian sugar mills.

[Justanotherone]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Get rid of all the sugar in food/drinks and witness the difference

 

why ?   a tax will also do nothing expect increase price

 

the only thing that slightly might work is :   healthcare is now out of pocket instead of free

[watchcat]

3 hours ago, kwaussie said:

children should be taught at schools at the importance of eating healthy.

 

Correct, but kids wouldn't understand this, just look at farang expats crave for cheese, burgers, white bread etc etc.

[fredwiggy]

19 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

Correct, but kids wouldn't understand this, just look at farang expats crave for cheese, burgers, white bread etc etc.

Generations of parents have failed at teaching their children healthy eating, and the result is the obesity and overweight percentages now. Kids mirror what their parents do until peers show them another side, but habits learned from birth to teen age are ingrained and don't go away.

[Gandtee]

In addition to the over consumption of sugar, many kids and adults do not get enough exercise. Do schools have physical training periods?

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

KFC and Mc D are not good.  But, Thai food is full of fat, grease, oil and sugar.

Add white rice and the 800 calorie sugar teas, coffee, and bubble drinks Thais like to suck on. Terrible. 

Nailed it..

[hotchilli]

49 minutes ago, Justanotherone said:

why ?   a tax will also do nothing expect increase price

Hence I said get rid of the high sugar products, or the derivatives of sugar