Thai Kids Face A Weighty Problem

[george]

Thai kids face a weighty problem

BANGKOK: -- Thailand ranks among countries with the world's fastest-growing number of overweight children, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"Nearly 100,000 more children become overweight each year in this country," National Economic and Social Advisory Council chairman Gothom Arya said yesterday

Speaking at an international conference on snack marketing for children, Gothom referred to information on Thai children between 2004 and 2006. By his definition, children are those aged between five and 12 years old.

He said children became overweight mainly because of "over nutrition and the excessive consumption of snacks". According to Gothom, the snack market was valued at over Bt100 billion last year.

"Being overweight poses a health risk," Gothom added.

Yesterday's conference attracted more than 200 participants.

Dr Wittaya Kulsomboon, who is working on plans to protect consumers' health, suggested the government use tax measures to discourage the consumption of unhealthy food, snacks, candies and carbonated drinks.

"Many countries have gone as far as banning snack ads," he said.

Globally, there are more than one billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them are obese.

A person has traditionally been considered obese if they are more than 20 per cent over their ideal weight.

Overweight people are between average weight and obesity, determined by a measurement of weight in relationship to height.

Both conditions pose a major risk for chronic disease, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and strokes, and certain forms of cancer.

-- The Nation 2008-02-29

[wasabi]

Get rid of McDonald's, KFC, and Swenson's Ice cream right now. Problem solved.

[gregybn]

Get rid of COKE... the most EVIL company and product on the face of the earth.

OK... plus all of the other evil sugary, fizzy copycats and wannabes, competing for the fat kids (and fat adults) baht

Problem REALLY solved!

[grtaylor]

Get rid of COKE... the most EVIL company and product on the face of the earth.

OK... plus all of the other evil sugary, fizzy copycats and wannabes, competing for the fat kids (and fat adults) baht

Problem REALLY solved!

But at least you can get Coke Lite and Coke Zero and Pepsi Max which have no sugar. Try finding a Diet Seven-Up or Diet Tonic with no sugar - impossible!

[toybits]

Get rid of all the snack vendors at the school gate entrance. Have the school put up canteens or school kitchens that have healthy and appetizing types of snacks. Call Jamie Oliver...Floyd.....Nigela.... and Samak....

Edited February 29, 2008 by toybits

[gunnyd]

Let them get big and fat like us Americans, then maybe I will be able to find a decent Big and Tall clothing store.

[gregybn]

But at least you can get Coke Lite and Coke Zero and Pepsi Max which have no sugar. Try finding a Diet Seven-Up or Diet

Google "aspartame".. and see the HUGE number of problems that exist with "sugar-free" drinks

In a nutshell... they create far, far more problems than they were supposed to solve.

(But the manufacturers don't give a good G~dd~~m... they laugh all the way to the bank)

And the kids (and adults) STILL get fat.

GetRidOfItAll!

[Khun Jean]

Parents fault.

Making kids sugar/fat addicted from the day they are born. Why because it is easy and the kids want it. And if they want it they get it. No backbone at all.

Never seen so many unbelievable fat kids as in Thailand.

[lazeeboy]

this generation has a taste for western foods

[sweetchariot]

Give it 20 years and it will be like America. All the bar girls will be bloaters, and the few that are skinny will be charging a premium as they will be in demand.

I bet Ronald Macdonald is already planning his next invasion 'Hmm, where can we exploit next where they are all skinny, Burma? Nepal?'

[0Mix1up]

It takes a lot of discipline to get children to eat properly

From what I've seen first hand (minimal) Thai parents/carers dont

[Thai at Heart]

Get rid of McDonald's, KFC, and Swenson's Ice cream right now. Problem solved.

Typical super size me response. Mcds consumption per capita in Thailand must be on of the lowest of any of their markets worldwide.

Has anyone ever looked at how much sugar is in UHT cartoned milk in this country, which is cleverly marketed by both domestics and multinationals as a health benefit. Some of them are 3 or 4 spoons of sugar per volume.

[kmart]

Parents fault.

Making kids sugar/fat addicted from the day they are born. Why because it is easy and the kids want it. And if they want it they get it. No backbone at all.

Never seen so many unbelievable fat kids as in Thailand.

Really? You ought to get out more. Sure there are some fat kids here, but nothing compared to the legions of mini-bloaters you see bumbling around any Western shopping mall. Are you real?

Edited February 29, 2008 by kmart

[Payboy]

Parents fault.

not without some help from....

bill

and bill

[peter991]

Bangkok: Hands off - this is ALL mine. Do you hear me? MINE !!! How did I get here - on Skytrain.

Issan corner store. We ride our bikes and walk and run and love exercise and sport.

Peter

[ercorn]

Parents fault.

Making kids sugar/fat addicted from the day they are born. Why because it is easy and the kids want it. And if they want it they get it. No backbone at all.

Never seen so many unbelievable fat kids as in Thailand.

Gotta agree with this

[advice]

Na Lak is the term used for chubby kids.. It also shows some wealth, if your kid is fat etc..

Time to get the adults educated..... all over the world..

It pains me to see anyone eat McDonalds, KFC etc, when you have so much better tasting food next door.. It usually is 20% of the burger price also.

anyway, blame the marketing gurus and the parents for letting it happen.. There is a new law in the USA? (not sure), where parents can be charged with "child abuse" if the kid is grossly overweight.... The bottom line is, that is exactly what it is. Killing your kids slowly, because of laziness or not being a good parent..

by the by, you would see a mass exodus of men leaving Thailand in the next few years, if it carries on... HEHE

[Khun Jean]

I think fat children are most of the time children of people who have a little bit money and probably want to make up for their own youth.

They spoil there children to an early death.

When my children were very young they got cookies, (artificial) chocolate, energy drinks!, chips from friends, neighbours, family members.

I intercepted it all with the excuse that first they have to eat and after that they can have a snack. I dumped most in the garbage.

Now they are almost 5 and 6 years old and know that when they get something they accept it but put it in a bowl so that they can share it with other children in the weekend or other special day. I still have to take out the worst kinds from that bowl and leave just enough to satisfy there snacking time.

Have a look at 7-11 and see how much space is reserved for snacks. It is a struggle to keep your kids healthy.

They play , run, swim, bicycling etc. So they are fit and healthy.

'Papa' still has to loose some weight though.

[trader1]

Na Lak is the term used for chubby kids.. It also shows some wealth, if your kid is fat etc..

I might be wrong but I think ป้อมปุ้ย ( bpôm bpûi ) is the usual word for chubby children. It does have an element of cuteness (น่ารัก nâa rák ) , which I think is the word you mean above, and the two are often used together (as in English we might say 'what a cute chubby baby'.

Edited February 29, 2008 by trader1

[singa-traz]

Parents fault.

Making kids sugar/fat addicted from the day they are born. Why because it is easy and the kids want it. And if they want it they get it. No backbone at all.

Never seen so many unbelievable fat kids as in Thailand.

Really? You ought to get out more. Sure there are some fat kids here, but nothing compared to the legions of mini-bloaters you see bumbling around any Western shopping mall. Are you real?

"Dek Moo" is an expression I really learned here.

I can still see them after school, waiting for the roti + coconut milk + chocolate + banana + sugar ... + the sugar drinks.

[MsFigure]

<br />

Get rid of COKE... the most EVIL company and product on the face of the earth.<br />OK... plus all of the other evil sugary, fizzy copycats and wannabes, competing for the fat kids (and fat adults) baht<br />Problem REALLY solved!

<br />But at least you can get Coke Lite and Coke Zero and Pepsi Max which have no sugar. Try finding a Diet Seven-Up or Diet Tonic with no sugar - impossible!<br />

<br /><br /><br />

The chemicals that they use to sweeten sugar free drinks and foods will do more damage to your body than real natural sugar will!

[too true]

It drives me mad when Thai people see an obese 3 year old and go on about cute the child is.

I, too, have to fight (in principle) with all the Thai neighbours and family members who think it's okay to give my children chocolate for breakfast.

Proper nutrition and exercise should be of the utmost importance in a young child's upbringing.

There is no excuse for a fat child. When did it become cute to set a child up for diabetes and heart disease?

[BigSnake]

Yes, Video games, KFC, Burge King, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Baskin and Robin, just to name a few, than many free hours in front of the TV>

[sgunn65]

Get rid of COKE... the most EVIL company and product on the face of the earth.

OK... plus all of the other evil sugary, fizzy copycats and wannabes, competing for the fat kids (and fat adults) baht

Problem REALLY solved!

Hmm!!! Not an AK 47 or chemical weapons then???

If I have told you once I have told you a million times, don't exagerrate!!

[Gravelrash]

Yes, Video games, KFC, Burge King, McDonald, Pizza Hut, Baskin and Robin, just to name a few, than many free hours in front of the TV>

It it true though, there seems to little more adorable to Thais than some obnoxious little fat porker stuffing his face with as much as he can physically shovel in with both hands, usually spraying his family and friends with mouthfulls of underchewed food as he enlightens (and delights) them as to the next hovel of gluttony he would like assault. Truth be known who couldn't think "naa ruk".

[KireB]

Get rid of McDonald's, KFC, and Swenson's Ice cream right now. Problem solved.

Typical super size me response. Mcds consumption per capita in Thailand must be on of the lowest of any of their markets worldwide.

Has anyone ever looked at how much sugar is in UHT cartoned milk in this country, which is cleverly marketed by both domestics and multinationals as a health benefit. Some of them are 3 or 4 spoons of sugar per volume.

Most kids eat dozens of fish and meatballs on stick, fried rice, sugary drinks and hardly any vegetables.

Of course they get fat.

[opengoal]

Its not the thai thai kids that are fat its the other lot the chinese thais

[egg6447]

Its not the thai thai kids that are fat its the other lot the chinese thais

yes, thats something ive been thinking for a while, but of course any thai with money or education, well spent a bit of time at a educational site,all claim to be chinees, something else i think about, ive never met a thai of japanees decent. how come they were here for a few years with licence to rape anything that was warm, 400,000 young men in there prime never bred wholesale beats me. another case of self denial.

[Scott]

If they would follow the Buddhist principle of moderation, there would be fewer problems. It should also be noted that the correlation with childhood obesity is quite high with children who spend considerable time either in front of a TV or a computer screen. Sometime ago there was a research article about this and it found that it wasn't only the inactivity that caused the obesity, but that people tend to 'snack' while watching Tv or farting around on the computer.

Children need ample amounts of exercise and that is certainly a challenge, especially in cities like BKK. They get into the car for the anywhere from 1-3 hour ride to school. They eat on the way. They have breakfast, they have a sugary snack at break time, loads of fat with their lunch, then an afternoon snack, then the long ride home.

So, the challenge is to 1) instill good eating habits (fruits, vegetables etc) and 2) make sure they get plenty of excercise--and this might require limiting TV and computer time.

I think it's wrong to blame McDonald's and KFC--I know at our school there are plenty of fat kids who never set food in them. But everything they eat is fried in oil and/or contains sugar and lots of both.

[Thai at Heart]

If they would follow the Buddhist principle of moderation, there would be fewer problems. It should also be noted that the correlation with childhood obesity is quite high with children who spend considerable time either in front of a TV or a computer screen. Sometime ago there was a research article about this and it found that it wasn't only the inactivity that caused the obesity, but that people tend to 'snack' while watching Tv or farting around on the computer.

Children need ample amounts of exercise and that is certainly a challenge, especially in cities like BKK. They get into the car for the anywhere from 1-3 hour ride to school. They eat on the way. They have breakfast, they have a sugary snack at break time, loads of fat with their lunch, then an afternoon snack, then the long ride home.

So, the challenge is to 1) instill good eating habits (fruits, vegetables etc) and 2) make sure they get plenty of excercise--and this might require limiting TV and computer time.

I think it's wrong to blame McDonald's and KFC--I know at our school there are plenty of fat kids who never set food in them. But everything they eat is fried in oil and/or contains sugar and lots of both.

There have been a mass of sugary fried snack foods around in Thailand long before Mcd's came here. I have an overweight neice. I gently coaxed her mother to remove the coke from the fridge, give her a lunchbox instead of money for snacks and amazinigly got her to reduce how much rice she ate from 3 heaped spoons to two. 8 kgs lost in 7 months and no more teasing at school!