Too Much Dining Out Causes Bulging Thai Tummies

[george]

Too much dining out causes bulging Thai tummies

BANGKOK: -- A Public Health Ministry nutritionist said Thais were enjoying dining out with 13 meals outside the home every week on average, warning that increasing numbers of people are suffering from bulging bellies.

Sa-nga Damapong, a senior public health officer in the Health Ministry's Nutrition Division said during the past 18 years (1986-2004), Thais who suffered being overweight were increasing 7.5 fold or some 10-12 million.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), being overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Obesity is the result of life style and eating behavior particularly dining out, he said.

The leading think tank, Kasikorn Research Centre (KRC) said in a recent report that Thais on dine out an average of 13 meals per week. Bangkokians were the biggest group who enjoy having meals at the food shops or restaurants, while the population in the northeastern provinces preferred to have home-cooked food.

Dr. Sa-nga said that dining out cost Thais on average Bt 927 (US$28) per household and that when compared with neighbouring countries, Thais dined out more than people in Singapore and Malaysia.

Such lifestyles helped boost food-related businesses, particularly fast food, he said, adding that the value of the food business sector in 2008 could hit Bt100 billion (US$3,030 million).

The leading nutritionist advises the public to remember that dining out offers the risk of ending up with bulging bellies instead of trim tummies, and that when dining out, consumers should also certain that the food shops or restaurants they patronise are hygienic.

Select menu items having low- or medium-calories, choose steamed, boiled and grilled Thai food instead of fried dishes, while avoiding coconut milk ingredients, he said, adding that carbonated soft drinks are also taboo.

Dr. Sa-nga added that our bodies send us signals: if we feel full, we should stop eating.

He said men should not consume over 2,000 calories daily while women should limit themselves to only 1,500 calories.

--TNA 2008-01-20

[astral]

Reducing the quantity eaten helps.

One dish and a second plate, between two people is a solution.

A regular pattern of exercise can also ameliorate the problem.

[kankaroo]

And in the UK we still manage to get fat while most can't afford to eat out ONCE A WEEK! never mind 13

To use an American colloquium, go figure !

[sweetchariot]

Reducing the quantity eaten helps.

One dish and a second plate, between two people is a solution.

A regular pattern of exercise can also ameliorate the problem.

Thanks for your insightful comments

[geriatrickid]

Soon we will hear the now common mantra offered by over eaters elsewhere; "It's glandular," or "It's a disability and not my fault"

[Artisi]

And here am I thinking it was how much food you stuffed in your mouth each time you opened it - just shows how wrong you can be.

[PhilHarries]

It's got <deleted> all to do with the number of times people eat out. You can eat out a hundred times a week and not get fat provided you watch what you eat, the quantity you eat, the time of day you eat and the exercise you take between meals. Of course if you have a sedentary job, eat fatty convenience foods, snack on sweet sugary pastries, drive everywhere you go and spend the evenings slumped in front of the television snacking the chances are you will get fat.

According to this Public Health Ministry nutritionist provided you don't eat out you won't get fat. I wonder where he got his qualifications? Probably the Khao San road.

kankaroo is correct in the assertion that Brits should be slim due to the costs of eating out but that only holds true if we ignore fast food outlets. There are a lot of families in the UK that rely on take aways for virtually every meal they eat. Add to that the pre-prepared, microwave meals generally of the high calorie, high fat content type and you get an obesity problem. There is a depressing number of young people in the UK today that have absolutely no idea how to prepare a decent nutricious meal from the basic raw ingredients.

Affluence also has it's part to play in healthy eating. It is said that the British diet during and immediately after WWII was the healthiest it's ever been as most of the fat inducing foodstuffs were rationed and the people were relatively poor. Now, as in Thailand, increasing personal wealth coupled with an abundance in supply of nutritionally challenged food and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle leads to only one outcome.

As an aside, how many people do you know who bleat on ad nauseum about their gym workout routines but would never dream of walking ten minutes to the local shop?

Anyone who wants a glimpse into the future for Thailand, just go to KL for your next visa run and take a good look at the people you pass on the street.

[cclub75]

Soon we will hear the now common mantra offered by over eaters elsewhere; "It's glandular," or "It's a disability and not my fault"

And also... "I'm going to sue... [fill in the blanks McDonald, Pizza Company, Swensen, Food Court, Mom And Pop restaurant, Rice farmers, etc.].

[younghusband]

It's got <deleted> all to do with the number of times people eat out. You can eat out a hundred times a week and not get fat provided you watch what you eat, the quantity you eat, the time of day you eat and the exercise you take between meals. Of course if you have a sedentary job, eat fatty convenience foods, snack on sweet sugary pastries, drive everywhere you go and spend the evenings slumped in front of the television snacking the chances are you will get fat.

According to this Public Health Ministry nutritionist provided you don't eat out you won't get fat. I wonder where he got his qualifications? Probably the Khao San road.

kankaroo is correct in the assertion that Brits should be slim due to the costs of eating out but that only holds true if we ignore fast food outlets. There are a lot of families in the UK that rely on take aways for virtually every meal they eat. Add to that the pre-prepared, microwave meals generally of the high calorie, high fat content type and you get an obesity problem. There is a depressing number of young people in the UK today that have absolutely no idea how to prepare a decent nutricious meal from the basic raw ingredients.

Affluence also has it's part to play in healthy eating. It is said that the British diet during and immediately after WWII was the healthiest it's ever been as most of the fat inducing foodstuffs were rationed and the people were relatively poor. Now, as in Thailand, increasing personal wealth coupled with an abundance in supply of nutritionally challenged food and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle leads to only one outcome.

As an aside, how many people do you know who bleat on ad nauseum about their gym workout routines but would never dream of walking ten minutes to the local shop?

Anyone who wants a glimpse into the future for Thailand, just go to KL for your next visa run and take a good look at the people you pass on the street.

I'm rather short of first hand expereience but I have a cousin who is a GP in North London.He tells me there is a very striking correlation between obesity/smoking and social class/income level.In other words it is the less well off levels of society who tend to be fatter and smokers.He attributes this to poor nutrition and lack of exercise, pointing out that in modern Britain it's hardly ever a valid excuse to plead poverty.The professional and middle class patients are in his experience almost always relatively slim.I'm not sure whether this picture- basically Hampstead- would apply throughout the UK.

[dominique355]

It's not how often you eat, it's what you eat and how much.

Actually I was under the impression that eating often, 4 or 5 small meals a day, is healthier than 1 or 2 big meals.

The problem in my opinion is that in so many dishes more and more sugar is added, from chicken to the noodle soup, to even orange juice, everywhere sugar is added and you don't know it. But that's a lot of empty calories.

[gdhm]

I am amused by the Kasikorn Research Centre (KRC) comments in the article namely; "the population in the northeastern provinces preferred to have home-cooked food"

I feel "PREFERRED" is misleading and naive, as no qualifying reference has been made to the well known fact that the NorthEast is the poorest region in Thailand and the majority of people cannot afford to dine in restuarants and food shops very often, if at all.

Regards

Dave

[Scott]

I've heard the excuses of it being glandular, genetic, etc.. I always tell people I'll believe that when I see pictures of fat refugees from Darfur!

I eat a lot of fast food, but I try to be a little careful. I never--OK, seldom--or the set. I have a double cheeseburger and water. If I have, fries it's just a hamburger or fish sandwich with it. I also try to keep this to a minimum. I almost never have soda. I manage to stay reasonably slim. I also shy away from deserts, and have fresh fruit instead--even if I have to go into a grocery store and buy it.

[gdhm]

...I've heard the excuses of it being glandular, genetic, etc.. I always tell people I'll believe that when I see pictures of fat refugees from Darfur!....

I am no expert and certainly I am VERY Obese which is due to overeating. Nevertheless it is my understanding that genetics CAN have a bearing on peoples' weight.

Some people and families naturally burn up calories faster than others, hence why one person with a similar diet can be thin, another average another fat.

Having said that, overeating or under-eating is NOT the amount of calories you eat but the amount of calories YOUR individual body needs to maintain a healthy weight. If you eat more than YOUR body needs, then you are overeating even if another person or most can eat that amount and not get fat.

The saying "eat to live and not live to eat" is oh so true and a great shame I have not been strong enough to live by that rule.

I have also read studies that strongly suggest parents who have over indulged their babies and children in the first year or 2 of their lives with food set up a physiological and biological need of the body to overeat that is very had to break and retrain (suppose you could call it "food addiction). Seems plausible to me.

At the end of the day it is down to the individual not to overeat be it harder for some than for others.

Regards

Dave

[Seneque]

The leading think tank....

What is there in this tank, is it edible ?

So Kbank is the leading think tank ... is it possible to have a list of the main think tank ? ... anyway the tank might not think !

[Plus]

And in the UK we still manage to get fat while most can't afford to eat out ONCE A WEEK! never mind 13

To use an American colloquium, go figure !

In the Nation they mentioned that Thais, who eat out 13 times a week, spend only 947 baht a month. Which is what? 10 pounds?

For that kind of money Isanese can afford eating out just as easily, it's just that they prefer to cook their own food rather than buy it off strangers (according to the research). Sounds reasonable - "my somtam is the best". Bangkokians generally can't be bothered and buy somtam from Isanese. It's called "eating out".

Also in the Nation there's a calory content table for both fast food and Thai dishes. Very interesting comparison.

[Losangels]

The leading think tank....

What is there in this tank, is it edible ?

So Kbank is the leading think tank ... is it possible to have a list of the main think tank ? ... anyway the tank might not think !

Perhaps we can round up all the incompetent people running this country into this "think tank" so that the country can have a better future

[TAWP]

The leading think tank....

What is there in this tank, is it edible ?

So Kbank is the leading think tank ... is it possible to have a list of the main think tank ? ... anyway the tank might not think !

Perhaps we can round up all the incompetent people running this country into this "think tank" so that the country can have a better future

And put them out to sea, in a so called 'Sink Tank'.

[BigSnake]

Yes, for sure just look at the new PM. Right on!! To much KFC, McDonald, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc etc

[astral]

In the Nation they mentioned that Thais, who eat out 13 times a week, spend only 947 baht a month.

Even the good old staple of Khao Pad, gets a dollop of sugar thrown in.........

[Zpete]

As a regular visitor to Thailand, I eat out alla time.

Logical for visiting farangs.

Have my favourite hawker vendors, best restaurants, nuffin fancy, just good honest Thai tukka.

The bonus is I seem to lose a kilo a week whilst visiting LOS.

I love Bangers, wall to wall fooooood!!!!!!!!!....... and Chang, water sumtimes.

Problem, I go home and back to old habits, like walk into kitchen and open fridge......... LOL, so back it comes.

Reckon I should stay longer, cheaper than eating at home, NZ or OZ.

No food stored in my places of stay, means no ongoing grazing..... and naturally loss of weight....

Mind you, lotsa walking in Bangers may help, perspiration pours offa me.

I usually spend most time in Chalong, very good food available there at very reasonable prices.

I see Thai folk eating all the time, yet sooooooo skinny...... slim...........

Happy eating all.

Edited February 3, 2008 by Zpete