Overweight, low-IQ kids 'a wake-up call for society'

[sandhurstmolonski]

As others have said , this also absolutely breaks my Heart to see this happening .

I was warning everyone ( who would listen ) 10 years ago , but they thought I was just a Crazy Farang , trying to explain

that fast food companies are just as bad , and maybe worse ( for premature death ) than the Tobacco industry ..

everybody used to say .." Ohh Mai Palai ..Just Nid Noy Okey " ..Madai .. Nothing is okey , I was devistated to see these Chains

( While such awesome food is available ..everywhere ) Take Over ..and Over and Over , first in Tourist venues and now everywhere ,

Thailand , just like Australia , as the Middle class has Grown have become Fatter , and fatter ..and Fatter ..

No age group is Immune , Its NEVER okey to even purchase a Coffee from these places , just dont give them a lifeline .

Only need the look at the " Wonderful " freedoms of the USA , Australia ..( at the top of the list ) , Its a disgrace .Horrendous diet ,

computer games , and No exercise is a recipy for one thing ..EARLY DEATH . Forget the argument of " Free enterprise " , save the

people from themselves . This really is simply Shocking .

[Strangebrew]

In the next decade hell it is here now need I say more?

[rebelplatoon]

Sugar has the nasty tendency to create....more hunger! So they will have lots of sugar (especially in drinks like Coke and 7 up) and feel more hungry hence eat more. What do they eat? Junk food. Its a vicious circle.

[Payboy]

[jamstock]

It might help if the milk didn't contain so much sugar!!

[plachon]

I instantly raise an eyebrow when I read the second sentance ...

"Citing the increasing problem of malnutrition in Thai children as alarming, the South East Asia Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) research - supported by Foremost milk manufacturer FrieslandCampina - revealed that the main reason for this was a lack of exercise and insufficient nutrients. Hence, children should exercise regularly, eat healthy and drink milk daily."

If I pay for a report ... I'm sure it can say enything I want it to say ... either in Asia or the West.

Yeah, it is almost as ironic as McDonald's and Coca-Cola being the main sponsors of the London Olympics, eh?

And it doesn't matter if it's Foremost, Dutch Mill or any of the other main milk companies in Thailand, the bulk of their products are absolutely stuffed full of sugar, thus adding to the problem they claim to be concerned about. Ordinary pasteurised plain milk with no sugar, sweeteners, favourings and additives of one form or another (including cow growth hormones and anti-biotic traces) are in a minority. Most Thai kids are weaned on to sweetened, favoured milk from an early age and so come to define "milk" as this adulterated product, thus making it very difficult to get them back on to plain milk at a later age. And I see no evidence in this study or elsewhere that the big, rich and powerful companies are doing anything whatsoever to change this underlying problem. Thus, obesity and toothrot are likely to continue unabated as major health problems amongst Thai children into the foreseeable future.

[hanssna]

I instantly raise an eyebrow when I read the second sentance ...

"Citing the increasing problem of malnutrition in Thai children as alarming, the South East Asia Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) research - supported by Foremost milk manufacturer FrieslandCampina - revealed that the main reason for this was a lack of exercise and insufficient nutrients. Hence, children should exercise regularly, eat healthy and drink milk daily."

If I pay for a report ... I'm sure it can say enything I want it to say ... either in Asia or the West.

Well, paid or not, It is pretty clear that kids here in Thailand could do with some more Dutch milk !

[ggt]

academics are urging society to prevent kids from growing up !

Many parents can identify with this statement...

[FangFerang]

Well FWIW I think Thai kids are drinking more milk now than they did 25 years ago, and also there are a lot more fat kids around. But there are also a helluva lot more tall kids. I put the taller kids down to milk and the fat kids down to eating rubbish (which is what they always are seen doing) but I could be wrong.

I think you are correct.

[sumtingwong]

Eat healthy, excercise, eie anyway.

[sumtingwong]

I'm an old codger, born during WWII and find these type of stories very depressing.

Currently I am reading a 900 page book "The political History of the UK 1945-1999' by Andrew Marr.(sad eh!) Having just completed the period 1945-1955 it states that the health of the British people at that time was almost the highest it had ever been. Yet this was during rationing and lack of most 'luxuries'. People cycled and walked a lot and, us kids, used to be out all day at week-ends and after school. You had to be 'called in' by your mom from the doorstep. We had free basic school meals, milk and a dollop of malt from a big tin.

Now I'm not saying 'the good old days' but there has to be a message there somewhere about exercise and diet.

Some posters, quite rightly, are saying computers I Pad's and the like are not the cause of the obesity. True, but they give modern children a dazzling alternative to what we had - which was nowt really, except "Journey in Space' and 'Dick Barton" on the radio and the Dandy on Tuesday and the Beano on Thursday! (For my American friends - these were comics).

I live in a semi rural spot, but I've never seen a Thai kid climbing a tree for example.

Of course, this is not confined to this country. I know one of the prime 'excuses' that parents will use is 'it's not safe for my child to be outside, better he/she is in front of the TV where I can keep any eye on them'. Maybe it's true, but oh so sad.

Finally, when I was in the bank recently to pay my monthly car instalment of 580 baht, the lady used the calculator to determine the change from a 1000 baht note. Now I know that seems normal but, for heavens sake, is there no mental arithmetic taught in schools any more.

Another poster referred to himself as a grumpy old man and I'm sure that applies to me, so forgive me !

[Donk]

I have seen many mothers give their children massive amounts of sugar especially in sugary soft drinks. The pancreas has to go 110% all the time and eventually become burned out and the result is diabetes but also heart disease.

[haikurd]

Not surprising conclusions for research funded by a milk company.

Most Thais can't even properly digest cow's milk - for Asians 90% of adults are lactose intolerant - because they don't have the genetic variation that enables most Northern Europeans to drink milk. Kids should have an easier time, but not sure if drinking a lot of milk will be good for them either.

Maybe cut back on 7-11 and eat more vegetables. Kale and dark green vegetables are a great source of calcium, and have less sugar than milk.

[sumtingwong]

I would like to see more breast feeding.

[mok199]

i have lived in thailand 12 years,vietnam for 1 year and lots of time in china,i run daily and use the gym daily,i have noticed thai woman,genetiacly have no muscle, especialy in thier legs,where as if you look at chinese,vietnamize,korean,japanese woman,they have very defined muscles in their legs,( calfs and thighs), in vietnam whether it was HCM ,or vungtao or the resortsfor , every morning the parks are filled with elderly and young doing thai chi,playing badminton and just exercising in general, i have been trying to get my gal to run or at least yoga,well it lasts about 3 days,i see that, the expetion is thais that exercise and eat properly, and the norm is the thais that are lazy and just dont care.this is based on my own observations only...children follow from example...yes most thais are thin,but no muscle....we are all a product of our enviorment,and it is up to the individual to make the changes,or to follow the pattern...

[mok199]

I would like to see more breast feeding.

i totaly agree,my gal just gave birth 3 weeks ago,and the breastmilk is just not thier.so we rely on formula..

[kimamey]

I instantly raise an eyebrow when I read the second sentance ...

"Citing the increasing problem of malnutrition in Thai children as alarming, the South East Asia Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) research - supported by Foremost milk manufacturer FrieslandCampina - revealed that the main reason for this was a lack of exercise and insufficient nutrients. Hence, children should exercise regularly, eat healthy and drink milk daily."

If I pay for a report ... I'm sure it can say enything I want it to say ... either in Asia or the West.

It says supported by so I doubt they paid for all of it. They would know that milk would provide some of the nutrients when they offered their support but it doesn't mean those nutrients can only be found in milk. Drinking milk is only a small part of the report. It's unlikely McDonald's would want to help is it.

If a research body or university wants to retain its reputation for independence it won't help if they are seen to blatantly tailor their results for whoever pays them and besides it would be easy to disprove their figures. You're focusing on one small part that seems to fit together rather than the whole report.

Most of this seems to be what the majority of us would expect and milk would obviously be part of the answer.

[sumtingwong]

Don't they usually include climate change, all this is also causing climate change?

[Prbkk]

Robert Lustig on sugar. worth a watch for anyone interested in nutrition.

[Suradit69]

...more Thai children will be overweight, shorter and have a lower IQ in the next decade, academics are urging society to prevent kids from growing up with low potential.

They could show the kids photos of "visitors" at the beach and in the bars to give them a striking, somewhat shocking, visual warning of what it would mean if they became overweight, had a low IQ and ended up with no potential. That should scare the calories out of them.

[wilcopops]

As IQ is a totally dubious concept in the first place o=ne has to regard the rest of the piece as highly questionable.

a bit like suggesting that life on Mars may be extinct in 10 years>>>>>>>?

[wilcopops]

Robert Lustig on sugar. worth a watch for anyone interested in nutrition.

As a nutritionist I would take that with a pinch of salt!

[InsideOut]

Banning the sale of junk food and running the fast food companies out of the country would be a good start to a more healthy bunch of kids.

Banning something is usually never a good start!

[Mister Fixit]

I remember about 7 years ago I was working at a large school teaching M1 and M6, so 12 your olds and 17/18 year olds.

I did a little fun survey as part of vocabulary and confidence-building. I asked all classes to tell me their favourite foods.

The M6 kids almost all told me they liked 'normal' Thai foods, such as fried rice, pad krapao, noodles, etc. 90% of them were of normal Thai build, i.e., slim and trim.

The M1's, however, all said they liked McDonalds, Pizza Hut & Company, KFC, hot dogs, 'Fren' Frie' and what we would call junk food. Hardly any mentioned a traditional Thai dish.

About 75% of them were verging on the obese. The difference between their builds and the 6 years between their ages showed a marked difference - in only 6 years obesity in this small sample had become the norm - and I blame the junk food companies.

If the good General were to do anything, he should tax the junk food outlets to the hilt and use the money to re-educate young Thais that the traditional Thai diet is in fact better for them. Make a Big Mac 500 baht and a packet of their appalling little grease-laden chips 150 baht and see if that would help youngsters to eat more healthily.

[marstons]

Report is nonsense, this statement cannot be possible unless we are talking minus IQs

BANGKOK: -- With research indicating more Thai children will be overweight, shorter and have a lower IQ in the next decade, academics are urging society to prevent kids from growing up with low potential.

[Mister Fixit]

I would like to see more breast feeding.

In the park ...

Seriously, we have multi-national food companies to thank for the lack of breast-feeding too. The most natural way to feed a child, designed specifically for mammals, and people are brain-washed into thinking it is somehow 'dirty'.

And people fall for it too ... All my children were breast-fed for up to a year (one had to stop at 3 months due to mum having a mammary cyst which curtailed milk flow) and I strongly believe they had the best possible start in life.

[sustento]

When research funded by a milk manufacturer proves that children have to drink more milk, I have doubts about the research.

Also. there are really a lot of conclusions (I.Q., vitamin A intake, vitamin D intake, iodine intake, milk intake, electronic screens, salt, fat, being obese, ... ) from this one research, I wonder how much of it is scientific.

It looks more like an article from a women's magazine than the conclusion of a scientific research.

Obviously abscent from the article is that most Thais (and Asians for that matter) are lactose intolerant after the age of five or so. Force feeding milk to children that can't digest it is not going to make them healthier or smarter.

Indeed. It's just a milk company sponsoring 'reports' to try and sell their product.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15822548

[goltec]

(from the Isaan)

Most children get "a lot of" money from their parents when they go to school.

I see children that get as much as 100 baht per day while I know their parents struggle to make a living.

All that money is meant to be spend on "Kanom" (candy and cookies).

Many children go to school without having breakfast but buy what they like in school.

Ever noticed the countless candy vendors in and around the school?

Also when the children leave school in the late afternoon the ceremony continuous.

If your parents did not give you enough money to buy "kanom" you risk the chance to become an outsider.

Like what happened with us when we were young and our parents could not afford to buy us a decent pair of sneakers of a famous brand.

Here they use uniforms, so that system shifted to how much money you can spend on "kanom" as far as I can see.

I also see and hear that a thick child is "cute" in the eyes of the parents.

And then the fact that children here just always get what they want...... in my opinion, not to upset them so the chance the will take good care of their parents later will increase.

There was an eating competition at a school close to us.

The thickest girl in the school was asked to participate..... sure she could win was the thought.

I wondered often why it is that so many children have tooth decay at such a young age.... even thou they brush their teeth at school after lunch.

[DrTuner]

Feed them soymilk and watch the katoy population soar.

[DrTuner]

I would like to see more breast feeding.

i totaly agree,my gal just gave birth 3 weeks ago,and the breastmilk is just not thier.so we rely on formula..

The DG (Daily Goat, import from New Zealand) is what our son, now 2y old, gets. A bit more expensive, but he seems to thrive on it. From what I've read it's the closest to actual breast milk.

The sugary milk drinks are banned in our house. Awful stuff.