Thailand Gets Fatter And Fatter

[george]

Thailand gets fatter and fatter

BANGKOK: -- About 15 million Thai children suffer from obesity, spending up to 161 billion baht a year on crunchy snacks, sweetened milk and sodas which have no nutritional value

Thailand is hardly short of public health challenges even though it has a golden opportunity to showcase its achievements as host of the sixth Global Conference on Health Promotion beginning in earnest today.

More than 600 delegates, among them ministers, are expected to attend the five-day meeting organised primarily in response to calls for a new public health movement around the world.

The meeting kicked off yesterday but serious debate will begin today. And they will focus on policy and partnership for action, as well as address the full range of health determinants.

Strategic plans for better health are to be put in the so-called Bangkok Charter that will be declared at the end of the meeting convened by the World Health Organisation. WHO member countries are duty-bound to follow the plans.

Buoyed by the applause Thailand has received for its dealing with health issues, notably HIV/Aids, Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul will use the conference's international limelight to focus on progress in medical treatment and disease prevention over the past half a century. That will happen on Thai Day, which is set for Wednesday.

Health promotion in Thailand has drawn attention mainly because the government has highlighted the importance of physical and mental well-being. This is reflected in the Healthy Thailand and Food Safety campaigns, as well as in the universal health-care coverage.

In addition, the Public Health Ministry is implementing a number of policies _ such as raising access to health services, hygienic and healthy food _ in order to increase life expectancy to 81 years by 2017 from 72 years now.

Besides the battle against HIV/Aids, the ministry is also giving high priority to efforts against cancer, lung infection, heart disease, high blood pressure, dengue fever and diabetes.

But policies and practical measures do not easily improve public health in all its aspects _ physical, mental and social _ as most of the country's 64 million people still lack basic knowledge. The lack of knowledge about the problem of child obesity is a case in point.

About 15 million children in the country suffer from obesity, one of the costliest illnesses to treat, in the same league with cancer, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure, according to Privy Councillor Kasem Wattanachai, who is a medical expert on heart diseases and the circulatory system.

``Although the government's health promotion campaign is on the right track, it's impossible to accomplish the target by only encouraging people to participate in mass exercise campaigns now and then for disease prevention,'' he said.

``Policymakers have to appreciate the importance of taking a holistic approach and seriously take action at different levels in society,'' he added.

According to the latest report by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), millions of kids at kindergarten and primary levels are overweight. Some babies have been found to be addicted to sugar and have an obesity problem since living in the womb because their mothers ate sugary food during pregnancy. The problem gets worse if they are fed sweetened milk in their early years.

A report released last week on the adverse impacts of obesity on the brain system and learning capability of school children was a rude awakening. A seven-year-old boy was taken to hospital because the fat level in his windpipe was so thick that he could not breathe or sleep at night, forcing him to depend on a respiratory machine.

The WHO lists obesity as a global health problem. Of one billion people categorised as overweight, 22 million are children. Four million of these will die this year due to complications related to the condition. Singapore and the United States have already declared a war on obesity.

Although the WHO regards Thailand as a medium-level sufferer, Dr Kasem expressed concern that the condition could be more severe in the future. An increase of overweight children, especially in urban areas, was a warning sign, he noted.

Though local advocacy groups sustain strong campaigns against smoking and drinking, they and the government so far have been unclear about combating child obesity, he said. In the meantime, commercials encouraging kids to eat junk food are all over television and radio programmes, he added.

The ThaiHealth report also finds that children and young people spend up to 161 billion baht a year on crunchy snacks, sweetened milk and sodas which do not have any nutritional value. That is a result of the respective producers' fierce marketing strategies. The spending on such tidbits amounts to more than the state budget of six ministries _ Defence, Foreign, Commerce, Justice, Labour and Public Health _ combined.

Dr Kasem suggested that the Public Health Ministry immediately work with other government agencies, for example the Education Ministry, to draw up a comprehensive plan against obesity, which contributes to the rising trend of diabetes and other degenerative diseases, and include it in the Healthy Thailand agenda. He also called for regulations screening manufacturers and advertisers of unhealthy snacks and drinks from encouraging excessive consumption.

Those advocacy groups that are campaigning against obesity and sugar consumption among children should form a network, he added. That would give them a louder voice, increasing their chance of being heard by the government, and that could speed up measures to curb the rise of overweight children and substandard food in the market, he said.

William Aldis, the WHO representative in Thailand, said the government should take health promotion campaigns into schools in order to raise awareness among the young generation of the importance healthy food, and exercise and of the perils of smoking. Giving young kids information will be better than relying on advertisements, he added.

``Our modern world spawns modern ailments and modern treatments alike. But no fancy pill, no cutting-edge surgery, no genetic breakthrough can compete with living a healthy lifestyle,'' Mr Aldis said.

``The causes of the obesity epidemic are manifold, starting with our genetic make-up. We are programmed to like calorie-rich foods and include economic development, higher incomes, shifting diets, globalisation and a range of changes in the nature of work and leisure,'' he added.

The timing of the international conference would be an opportunity for developing countries facing ``rich-country lifestyle diseases'' to discuss their experiences and to take obesity, tobacco consumption and many other more problems by the horns, the WTO official said.

After the Bangkok Charter is translated into action, he believed he would see fewer obese people and smokers when he walks from his home to take the skytrain to work.

--Bangkok Post 2005-08-08

[plachon]

Good article George. The rising level of obesity amongst young Thais, is something that has been becoming glaringly plain over the last decade, although I would question the figure of 15 M quoted. That would be most kids in the country are obese, which they clearly are not, although some classes in some schools might come close. (I think they were probably sampling only the fatties in one urban school and then extrapolated the figs across the country?)

Changing the mindset of fat = healthy amongst most Thais would help for a start, so instead of pinching tubby Somchai's cheek and declaring "naa rak, jang loei", one should more kindly, prod his flabby tummy and say, "eeeuugh, naa gried maak loei!".

The same goes for lard arse farangs, of course.

[Scott]

This is particularly sad. I've watched a lot of kids in my school and neighborhood who have really ballooned up and unnecessarily so. One student in grade 2 was so large that he couldn't use a squat toilet without assistance (from two adults).

I watch my neighbors constantly running after their kids and force feeding them--even though they don't want to eat. One young girl--now about 2 or 3 years old, was such a nice, slim, trim baby and now is really fat. Especially sad since her father is a doctor. But they keep shoveling the sweets into her.

[slimdog]

According to the article there are 22 Million obese children worldwide (WHO), of which 15 Million are from Thailand (Health Ministry). Somehow these figures don't add up...

Quote:

"BANGKOK: -- About 15 million Thai children suffer from obesity"

"WHO lists obesity as a global health problem. Of one billion people categorised as overweight, 22 million are children"

[Anek18]

maybe 15millions from Africa hahaha