More Obesity Among Thais?

[BugJackBaron]

Don't think it has anything to do with Western fast food. The amount consumed by the average person is not enough to explain it. Virtually no one eats at McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, etc 3 times a day like some obese people do in the US. People just have a lot more disposable income and are more likely to have sedentary jobs and lifestyles as compared to the past.

Why do people assume all "fast food" is Western. At the food court of Tesco

I saw many pseudo Thai places - cheap but obviously processed(oily, sugar based)

junk being served there.

Talk to people living here for many decades and they will often tell you

Thai food has gone downhill unless it is home-cooked.

It is probably a combination of sedentary life style and diet though I would

say most Thais I see are still slimmer than Westerners(especially women) and

if you look at old photos (or statues) you can see the occasional pudgy Thai child there too.

[sprq]

Quite obviously, certainly in Bangkok, Thais are a lot chubbier than they used to be, and quite obviously the change in lifestyle accounts for it, and quite obviously the lifestyle influences come from the west.

To be brief, they are: travelling by motorised transport, many more sedentary occupations, sedentary recreations like TV and computer games, fattier food - especially all the snack junk found in mini-supermarkets.

Then there are the increased disposable incomes with which to follow the western lifestyle.

Result: fat Thais.

[bkkjames]

Not sure why people keep referring to motorized transport as some new phenomenon here that everyone just started using a decade ago.

Anyways on the food thing, while I was sitting at soi 8 bar for lunch and having a clubhouse and french fries (with diet coke), I watched the food purchasing habits of some bangkok residents.

Observed being purchased en masse was some fruit, noodle type soups followed by a very busy 711 before stopping at the vendor for some deep fried chicken's feet with sticky rice and that chicken sauce and returning to their offices I guess.

I assume the above purchases were made for the inevitable 4pm snack session before going home for dinner (not that I would partake )

Happy eating.

Edited October 20, 2009 by bkkjames

[oevna]

No fast food at all where I live, and we still have fat kids, fat young adults and fat adults.

I think a much higher disposable income along with a prevailing attitude that to be fat is to show wealth and health. My MIL was quite worried I was ill because I was "too thin". I think it has more to do with parents having the money to allow kids to stuff their faces, encouraging them to stuff their faces and kids sitting around watching tv and playing video games instead.

I bet they have Coke though! Sodas are almost the worst thing you can drink. That, plus just about every store selling cheap, sugary snacks. There might not be a KFC everywhere, but there is junk food all over Thailand.

Exercise may have a small amount to do with it, but overweightness is mostly caused by what people eat.

[bonobo]

Thanks for correcting me, bonobo. My information came from a television documentary and I was only able to watch a portion of it. Yes, it was Okinawa. But, the facts remain that the elderly are out-living their offspring, primarily due to change in diet and lack of exercise. The modern diets have changed from primarily fish products to fast foods with sugar and fat added.

Well, the part about the changing diet in Okinawa is certainly correct.  The Japanese have had a tremendous influx of processed snacks, and that trend has spread to places like Thailand and the Philippines. The Okinawans did used to eat a diet very heavy on the fish, and that has changed to processed foods as well as beef and pork.

And while the older Okinawans tended to be farmers and fishermen, both active-type professions, the younger generation has shifted to more sedentary professions.  So the end result of the older generation out-living the younger could certainly be true.

[sbk]

No fast food at all where I live, and we still have fat kids, fat young adults and fat adults.

I think a much higher disposable income along with a prevailing attitude that to be fat is to show wealth and health. My MIL was quite worried I was ill because I was "too thin". I think it has more to do with parents having the money to allow kids to stuff their faces, encouraging them to stuff their faces and kids sitting around watching tv and playing video games instead.

I bet they have Coke though! Sodas are almost the worst thing you can drink. That, plus just about every store selling cheap, sugary snacks. There might not be a KFC everywhere, but there is junk food all over Thailand.

Exercise may have a small amount to do with it, but overweightness is mostly caused by what people eat.

Seems you have never had traditional Thai drinks much have you? Full of sugar. In fact, alot of the traditional sweets where I live are loaded with palm sugar. My personal favorite is little balls of dough made out of sticky rice flour molded around a ball of palm sugar, then boiled and then rolled in fresh coconut.

But hey, its not processed so it must be good for you, right?

[oevna]

No fast food at all where I live, and we still have fat kids, fat young adults and fat adults.

I think a much higher disposable income along with a prevailing attitude that to be fat is to show wealth and health. My MIL was quite worried I was ill because I was "too thin". I think it has more to do with parents having the money to allow kids to stuff their faces, encouraging them to stuff their faces and kids sitting around watching tv and playing video games instead.

I bet they have Coke though! Sodas are almost the worst thing you can drink. That, plus just about every store selling cheap, sugary snacks. There might not be a KFC everywhere, but there is junk food all over Thailand.

Exercise may have a small amount to do with it, but overweightness is mostly caused by what people eat.

Seems you have never had traditional Thai drinks much have you? Full of sugar. In fact, alot of the traditional sweets where I live are loaded with palm sugar. My personal favorite is little balls of dough made out of sticky rice flour molded around a ball of palm sugar, then boiled and then rolled in fresh coconut.

But hey, its not processed so it must be good for you, right?

Ever seen a kid drink a 64-oz container of a Thai traditional beverage?

[IanForbes]

Has anybody ever seen a fat guy peddling one of those 3 wheel bicycles with passenger seats? The riders are always old, lean, muscled and hard as nails.

I can't recall ever seeing a fat veggie lady either...

[taurus88]

I too have noticed an increase in "chubby" Thai's in the last 10 years. Just goes to prove that not all western influences are positive as far as diet is concerned.

Not so sure its western influences.. if you look at all the so called Thai food its filled with sugar. There are many stalls that are not western food but use too much sugar.

I see the point you are making but I would assume that the traditional Thai diet has not changed greatly in 10 years whereas the availability of western fast food chains has increased dramatically. As an example, China's obesity rates have doubled in the last 10 years which suggests increased wealth and mobility ( use of cars ) etc plays a significant factor. According to the WHO the USA has the world's highest rate of obescity, around 30%, so does increased wealth equate to increased obescity?

[thaifrelst]

As a 'chubby' Thai I will add some thoughts here. Yes, Thais are getting chubbier. I think it is a result of eating more/more availability of Western foods in Thailand (Thai food actually has alot of vegetables in it), AND (and this is the kicker) more available transportation. Hear me out (and I have been thinking about this for a bit). When I was in Europe (Austria/Vienna) I noticed that everyone there was generally more thin than in the United States. Then I go around with the GF on and everyone there like, has to walk everywhere because its really just a hassle to have a car. (Okay you get on the train to your main location and walk the rest of the way). Now in the States I have a car, I go everywhere by car. I burn no calories. In Europe, you get exercise and gotta walk everywhere. Thailand, sort of the same thing. Before, everyone had to walk. Now, BTS, cheaper cars, cheaper bikes=less exercise and fatter Thais.

Good post I thought Submaniac. I think ther is no doubt that Thai children are getting fatter. It is said that per capita Thais consume more sugar than any other country. Another thing that I have noticed over the years is that the teeth of young Thai children are getting progressively worse. Heaven forbid that within a few years the "land of Smiles" should become the "Land of Gums!

2 weeks ago my gf asked me to go to Korat with her and daugther of brother number one. She wanted to see a new bath/pool-land everybody in the village talked about.

I was very suprised to see the different from the children in the village compared to the city children.

In the village I live I can hardly see a fat child, but at the swimming-pool in Korat there where a lot of fat children.

[xen]

With the Thais growing chubbier for whatever reason , i often wonder that other Thais will come and pat/rub them on the stomach too , or is this just reserved for us larger Falungs.

[Ulysses G.]

Yes, more fatties here. Yes, blame it on the farangs. That works!

As usual, Jingthing is correct and the PC ninnies are wrong. Fat Thais can not be blamed on McDonalds.

The Thais have plenty of their own junk food and soaked with white sugar, hydrogenated coconut and palm oil, it tends to be worse than the farang stuff. They have always had this crap; they just eat more of it than they did in the past and exercise less.

They did a study in the West recently on the worst fast food available and Pad Thai won hands down!

[honey2000]

Count the number of junk food aisles in Lotus etc, about half of the total.

[prighas]

The thing I noticed about the US in general was the size of meals. They even have things like a diet triple whopper with cheese nowadays to make you feel less guilty about consuming 4000 calories in one meal.

Here, it's down to potato chips and fa(s)t food and as you say, sitting on one's ass lifestyle. I don't agree with the skytrain inference though - you can't tell me those who take it now (and over the last ten years), walked previously to their offices / schools. One could argue they get more exercise now walking up the stairs / platforms than sitting on a bus.

(reason for edit, can't type today)

4000 calories in one meal.. wow.. that is more than the average guy needs in a whole day.

How about 2600 calories in an Oreo Shake? Check out the 2008 worst drink in the US.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/...iews_012309.php

[MrHammer]

It's always diet that seems to get the bad rep, yet if you do enough exersize you can eat practically anything you like and not get fat. It's the sedentary office lifestyle that makes people fat. Humans are not meant biologically to not work physically for food.

A hunter couldn't eat before he killed an animal. A farmer needed to work in the field every day. An office worker just have to sit and send emails all day. It's unnatural, simple as that.

Of course diet is a major factor. When I eat junkfood I always notice how it makes me feeling hungry within an hour after having eaten, despite having enough calories to last a day.

I would guess the reason Thais get more fat now is that they eat so frequently which would probably would be ok with a standard Thai diet (snacking on fruits and nuts), but if you substitute that with Oreos and Potato chips, then that WILL make you fat.

I have personally stopped eating several meals a day and now only eat one large meal in the evening. It has given me tons of more energy and I lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks. If you're interested google 'warrior diet'.

Edited November 2, 2009 by MrHammer

[MrHammer]

But hey, its not processed so it must be good for you, right?

It may not be good for you, but at least it's natural and not made from animal fat and added tons of additives.