Thais Should Think Before Choosing Trendy Junk Food

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Thais should think before choosing trendy junk food

By The Nation

Obesity and health problems caused by bad diet are already a concern in Thailand; longer-term effects could also damage our economic potential

The recent hype over a Western doughnut brand name in Thailand reflects the globalisation of food culture. The doughnut has gained instant popularity among Thai consumers because of its sweet and flavourful taste. But the popularity of the product can also be attributed to its associations with Western lifestyles. A number of American fast food chains have made their present felt in the Thai market. Many Thais are now regular consumers of cheesy pizza, deep-fried chicken and burgers, all of which are among the most popular menu items at these chain outlets.

While Thai consumers have been included in, and have welcomed, the global fast food culture, we should be aware of the risks associated with this type of food. Education on healthy food consumption is even more important in the face of the junk food invasion, especially for youngsters. If we do not promote the benefits of healthy eating, the next generation of Thais will face the same health problems that have become prevalent in developed countries where fast and processed foods are omnipresent: obesity, heart disease and other diseases such as diabetes.

Obesity has become a serious issue for Americans. More than one-third of American adults are said to have health problems related to poor diet. This number is likely to increase unless effective intervention programmes are implemented soon. US First Lady Michelle Obama has taken up the issue as her cause, and she is actively campaigning to educate American children about eating nutritious food and exercising to stay healthy.

The campaign makes sense, as up to half of the population could be in danger of becoming obese. The US is indeed becoming a very unhealthy nation. In short, a higher portion of the country's income will have to be spent on healthcare, instead of being used to boost the country's economic competitiveness and potential. The economic impact of obesity is not only limited to health issues but also to productivity and human capital.

It is difficult for Americans to avoid fatty and highly processed foods. Fast food in the US is cheap, compared to nutritious fresh food. A burger can cost only one dollar while a decent meal in an average food court can cost up to ten times that amount. Therefore, people on lower incomes often prefer to buy a filling, cheap burger at lunchtime than go to the trouble of finding a more expensive, healthy alternative.

However, the perception regarding Western fast food chains in Thailand is different, as these outlets market their products as a lifestyle choice; something different from traditional local foods. The prices reflect this attitude; fast food is not cheap in comparison to traditional Thai food. To gain a market edge, these food chains project their products as trendy in order to attract youngsters, who eventually develop unhealthy eating habits. If this continues, Thais will soon face the same health problem as Americans.

The proliferation of new food chains opens up choices for consumers to explore options. However, consumer education should go in parallel, especially for youngsters who are easily lured by marketing gimmicks. Youth must be taught the benefits of nutritious food and the dangers associated with junk food. Many are already addicted to unhealthy food and are losing the traditional Thai habit of regularly eating healthy vegetables and fruit.

Obesity can be prevented. But people need to be made aware of what they are consuming and the effects of unhealthy and excessive consumption on the body. Schools must teach good eating habits and the fact that it is also cool to eat "home-cooked" meals. They can teach children about the food they eat, and to experiment in cooking classes with natural, nutritious ingredients. Culinary education should be made as important as any other part of the curriculum. We are, after all, what we eat - throughout our whole lives.

Parents are responsible too, and it is unfortunate that many are ignorant of these basic health factors, filling their kids with sugary snacks and drinks. Sweets are tasty and it's difficult to resist the temptation. But parents are responsible for the health of their children. It will be a tragic waste if future generations cannot reach their full potential due to avoidable health problems.

-- The Nation 2010-11-16

[beammeup]

Everyone should think before eating junk food not just Thais. A donut now and then shouldn't hurt anyone. Nutritional and health risk info should be made available so people can educate themselves.

[visions]

I find it amazing, even in traditional Thai food retaurants, that virtually every table orders and consumes a Cola type drink instead of the traditional basic water.

Why drink poison when a better and far cheaper "good for you" alternative is readily available?

[DP25]

It is difficult for Americans to avoid fatty and highly processed foods. Fast food in the US is cheap, compared to nutritious fresh food. A burger can cost only one dollar while a decent meal in an average food court can cost up to ten times that amount.

Author has clearly never been to the US

Thais are becoming unhealthy because they are eating fatty, oil covered, sugary Thai food non stop, not because of foriegn food that the majority only eat on rare occasions. If Thais stopped putting 2 tablespoons of sugar in every bowl of noodles they wouldn't have one of the highest diabetes rates in the world, HIGHER than the US

[jackr]

Although true, I think the author should look to his own backyard before chastising Western goodies. Look how much fat a typical Thai dish will contain, for instance, not to mention over-salting, sugar, the ubiquitous use of MSG, and other nasties!!

[onnut]

Blame the foreigners again!

Also something to do with the fact that Thais don't want to walk anywhere!

[KhunAussie52]

American junk food in Thailand we do not need...................!!!

[JoeInSurin]

American junk food in Thailand we do not need...................!!!

Thai junk food in Thailand we do not need.....................!!!

Junk food is junk food no matter where it comes from!!

[mark45y]

American junk food in Thailand we do not need...................!!!

Who does "we" refer to?

[spiderleghead]

i have been walking to school the past couple of weeks and still get quizzed by thai staff as to why i am not riding my motorbike. when i tell them the weather is cool and i am too fat so need exercise - they really don't understand.

this is the root of the problem mixed with the general hobby here which is eating.

in older times when people had less meat to eat and less complicated carbohydrates and they actually did manual labour - there was no real problem with obesity compared with today.

walking, breathing between eating and not covering all food with sugar/salt/msg/ketchup would be a start.

but the main problem is just that people here seem to be happy with what they are doing and most cannot see a reason to change.

kind of up to them really.

[givenall]

The Thai lifestyle is being trendy. I have never seen any nationality more than Thai to follow the trend. Commercial works here

[bushwacker]

<"If this continues, Thais will soon face the same health problem as Americans.">

TOO LATE!

I cannot believe the number of fat thai people that I see each day and so many of them have bad skin. It all comes down to what you put in your body! :jap:

[junglist]

Thais never really had a great diet to begin with. Many of the foods Thai people call Thai are not. They came from other countries and were adapted to the Thai style of cooking. Look at the people from the past in many counties and you will see that the citizens were considerable smaller. As there diets became better they grew taller. This can be seen all over Europe and more recently in Japan and China. So before the Thais condemn foreign food they should do their homework.

[junglist]

<"If this continues, Thais will soon face the same health problem as Americans.">

TOO LATE!

I cannot believe the number of fat thai people that I see each day and so many of them have bad skin. It all comes down to what you put in your body! :jap:

A lot of the bad skin you see is the obsession with whiting creams. They damage to pores on the face and leave the person lighter but also more susceptible to rashes and blemishes (pimples).

[Thaddeus]

I see a large number of fat locals every day, the percentage increases with their age.

The closest western style fast food outlet (KFC, Nang Rong) is 50km away.

You don't need Holmes to work it out.

[RedNIvar]

Every local Thai drink is filled with sugar. They think its ok because they drink it with a lot of ice. Every Thai meal has sugar in it. Every time I order Phad Thai, I need to insist and then hold on to the sugar bowl to ensure no sugar is added in. The only healthy part of Thai food is the raw vegetables. Everything else is either soaked with oil, or sugar rich.

This article is typical of most Thai's I know, their lifestyle changes has brought a reduction in exercise and an increase in fat rich Thai cuisine. Instead of facing up to the facts, it is easier for them to blame the foreign influence.

[hammered]

Fast food of any type should be avoided as a regular diet. It doesnt matter what country it hails from and the consumption of it tends to grow with urbanization.

The traditional freshly made chilli paste (nam phrik) of which there are many varieties with a variety of vegetables is as healthy as anything but generally seen as something only the poor would eat or something that is eaten alongside a whole load of other less healthy stuff. Again education, this time in health, becomes an issue.

Then again it doesnt need to be overdone by the health nazis too. An occasional enjoyment of something that you enjoy but which isnt necessarily good for you is fine.

Must remember to watch "supersize me" again.

[phaethon]

Another aspect of western food is portion size. I noticed this on the Dean and Deluca blog for their new Bangkok branch:

We learned that our sandwiches are sometimes too big for local tastes, so very quickly, we set up an option where you can buy half a sandwich...

[craigt3365]

It is difficult for Americans to avoid fatty and highly processed foods. Fast food in the US is cheap, compared to nutritious fresh food. A burger can cost only one dollar while a decent meal in an average food court can cost up to ten times that amount.

Author has clearly never been to the US

Thais are becoming unhealthy because they are eating fatty, oil covered, sugary Thai food non stop, not because of foriegn food that the majority only eat on rare occasions. If Thais stopped putting 2 tablespoons of sugar in every bowl of noodles they wouldn't have one of the highest diabetes rates in the world, HIGHER than the US

For sure, a stupid statement. Fast food is not cheap, just fast. Food courts are rare...and are usually made up of fast food joints!

It's easy to avoid fatty and highly processed foods. Order a salad at McDonalds instead of a burger...but hardly anybody does that.

[anterian]

Nothing much to add here, Thais are obsessed with sugar. The last time I returned to England and had a check up, they said I was diabetic my blood sugar was 4 times normal. Now back in Thailand I struggle to hold my blood sugar at a normal level (I have a testing kit). The problem is avoiding sugar, it is in everything, I have noted that even imported foods such as mayonnaise, tinned meats and suchlike have had added sugar to conform to Thai tastes.

The only solution is to cook your own meals from scratch, yet even here many vegetables such as potatoes and carrots are noticeably sweeter than their western varieties.

[blazes]

Every day I make the ten minute walk from my condo to Central Dept store (in Chiang Mai). The only other "walkers" I ever pass are farangs like me. NEVER see a Thai walking any distance.

Mind you, as I walk down Huay Kaew, any benefit I get from the exercise is nullified totally by the carcinogenic fumes I am breathing as I foolishly walk to save my life.

Actually, in special parks Thais do jog, don't they? Probably all middle class, though...with the time available to jog.

[sprq]

One thing that is ubiquitous in Thailand is 7-11. And at least half the shelving is taken up with processed foods that are either very fatty or very sweet. The chief culprits are savoury snacks in colourful packets, which take up about one-third of the shelf space, and which are very popular. Go back to the 1980s and you had NO convenience stores and very few such heavily processed snacks on sale anywhere. And in the 1980s about one Thai in 100 was fat, and virtually nobody was obese.

These snacks are not the only cause of the huge increase in Thais' average weight in the last decade in particular, but they are the clearest indicator of damaging diet change.

[LJW]

In my looking around Thailand, I see mostly Nam Daeng and Nam Kio, and by far the most saturated, is the Japanese Junk Food, and the Asian Junk Foods. Macdonalds and the rest of American Fast food, are only available in large cities with rich Thais, not the 'typical Thai' person..

[jonclark]

For my two cents worth I just think that Thais should think twice before choosing trendy junk food politicians.

Personally i couldn't careless what they eat (do they care what I eat??) as most male Thais drink like fish and that liquore is far more damaging than donuts and burgers. :jap:

[phaethon]

Actually, in special parks Thais do jog, don't they? Probably all middle class, though...with the time available to jog.

Lumpini Park in the morning is full of joggers and tai-chi-ers etc.

Some of them armed... some of them just... flexible:

Can you imagine how long the sword wielders would last in Hyde park before the knee-jerk police shot them?

[Igor]

"people on lower incomes often prefer to buy a filling, cheap burger at lunchtime"

A cheap burger? Not in Chiang Mai. For the price of a burger, you can eat a whole meal from some very tasty street stands. The article was obviously written by someone with a comparatively large income whose kids are getting fat on their large allowances. While I agree junk food should be a treat - not a diet - donuts and fried chicken are still relatively expensive and unlikely to be the culprits in a national epidemic of obesity.

Personally, I'd like to see my girlfriend put on a few pounds. Those bones can hurt!

[craigt3365]

Some Thai restaurants have a majority of fried, deep fried or sauteeed dishes. At times, it's hard ordering a health dish here...too much oil and too much coconut milk. Just because they are skinny doesn't mean they are healthy. I'm skinny but my cholesterol is over the top!

[Raesum]

Every local Thai drink is filled with sugar. They think its ok because they drink it with a lot of ice. Every Thai meal has sugar in it. Every time I order Phad Thai, I need to insist and then hold on to the sugar bowl to ensure no sugar is added in. The only healthy part of Thai food is the raw vegetables. Everything else is either soaked with oil, or sugar rich.

This article is typical of most Thai's I know, their lifestyle changes has brought a reduction in exercise and an increase in fat rich Thai cuisine. Instead of facing up to the facts, it is easier for them to blame the foreign influence.

I always order Som Tum without sugar. Love that sour taste!

[NCFC]

It is difficult for Americans to avoid fatty and highly processed foods. Fast food in the US is cheap, compared to nutritious fresh food. A burger can cost only one dollar while a decent meal in an average food court can cost up to ten times that amount.

Author has clearly never been to the US

Thais are becoming unhealthy because they are eating fatty, oil covered, sugary Thai food non stop, not because of foriegn food that the majority only eat on rare occasions. If Thais stopped putting 2 tablespoons of sugar in every bowl of noodles they wouldn't have one of the highest diabetes rates in the world, HIGHER than the US

According to International Diabetes Federation, in 2010 Thailand has estimated rates of diabetes mellitus at 7.7% of population, which is upper-half of S.E.Asian nations but in the bottom half of global league tables. The US by comparison has estimated rates of diabetes mellitus at 12.3% of population. Thai rates are lower than most European countries, too

Edited November 16, 2010 by NCFC

[NCFC]

Nothing much to add here, Thais are obsessed with sugar. The last time I returned to England and had a check up, they said I was diabetic my blood sugar was 4 times normal. Now back in Thailand I struggle to hold my blood sugar at a normal level (I have a testing kit). The problem is avoiding sugar, it is in everything, I have noted that even imported foods such as mayonnaise, tinned meats and suchlike have had added sugar to conform to Thai tastes.

The only solution is to cook your own meals from scratch, yet even here many vegetables such as potatoes and carrots are noticeably sweeter than their western varieties.

European per capita sugar consumption (39kg) is higher than Thailand's (35Kg). Interestingly, the US consumes less sugar per head than average (29kg), so all the fatties in America must be getting their carbs from animal fats. The real sugar munchers are the Australians, however, who consume an amazing 46Kg of sugar each year per person. Or are they feeding it to the roos?