Will all Thais be fat in ten years’ time?

[Inspire]

Will all Thais be fat in ten years’ time?

When I first came to Thailand in the early eighties one of the first things I noticed was how slim everybody was.

The obesity epidemic that was already beginning to rear its head in the west had not touched Thailand one iota. Everybody both young and old, rich and poor, male and female all seemed so lean and fit looking.

They were all so good looking – the most beautiful race on earth – and they looked so healthy. I was young, thin and healthy too so I fit right in…

But as people in the west have grown dangerously fat to the point where huge percentages of populations are clinically if not morbidly obese, so has Thailand begun to change.

In fact it seems to be picking up pace as fat people in both the cities and the countryside are not just a figure of fun curiosity anymore but becoming a regular occurrence. There are lots of fat people in Thailand and worryingly many of them are children. Doctors are often quoted as being concerned.

Now, I am not having a go at fat Thai people. Some of my best friends are on the pum pooey side but I never used to know anyone in the country who I had to be careful around lest they inadvertently stepped on my toe. Now there are tons. You see them everywhere.

Is it the change in diets?

Back in the eighties it was virtually impossible to get anything as simple as milk. Villa supermarket was open but there was no such thing as a convenience store. There was Seven – Up but no 7 – 11. No Thai in their right mind would have bought a pre-packaged mean from a regular shop, though of course they have always been a nation of buying things to eat off street vendors in plastic bags.

And of course there was absolutely no western fast food outlets. Not a MacDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut anywhere. But the Thais did still seem to eat a lot of fried stuff out of a wok. A lot of curries with coconut milk.

Was it the number of meals they had per day and the size of the meals that kept them slim?

Thais seemed to eat a lot more meals and snacks per day than I was used when I had grown up but the size of the meals was markedly different. Did that make a different to their girth? Maybe they digested things better. There used to be an advertising slogan in the UK about a chocolate called Milky Way that you could eat between meals that would not ruin your appetite…..it didn’t seem that would go down well in Thailand. Everyone has always eaten between meals.

Was it their circumstances?

Thais seemed to be a busy people always on the go and very active. Has this changed? The whole world is becoming more sedentary what with the rise in technology. But there again there were always the lazy ones sitting around all day too. It was just that they didn’t sem to get fat either.

Have Thais stopped walking so much?

They never seemed to walk much even 35 years ago; if they could afford transport even over a few hundred meters they would take it rather than bake in the sun. OK, admittedly far fewer city folk owned cars or even motorbikes but they still used the bus – hardly exercise even if they were walking to the stop.

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/will-thais-fat-ten-years-time/

-- Inspire Pattaya 2016-06-25

[KhunBENQ]

In 10 years?

More like since 10 years!

OK, not all.

More and more terribly obese people with short life expectancy.

Just look at the supermarket shelfs.

Kilometers of potato chips, awfully fat and sweet stuff (like the O..o).

(most don't know what real potatoes are and would never eat them, absurd)

Overly sweet drinks/sodas.

All the western achievements have reached the country.

Edited June 25, 2016 by KhunBENQ

[vogie]

Yes, but their driving will have improved.

[lostinisaan]

In 10 years?

More like since 10 years!

OK, not all.

More and more terribly obese people with short life expectancy.

Just look at the supermarket shelfs.

Kilometers of potato chips, awfully fat and sweet stuff (like the O..o).

(most don't know what real potatoes are and would never eat them, absurd)

Overly sweet drinks/sodas.

All the western achievements have reached the country.

But Thailand will need 100 years to reach America's level.....

[Suradit69]

Will all Thais be fat in ten years’ time?

Will many of the farang on TV who worry about such things still be breathing in 10 years?

[mihalis]

Ten years, open your eyes they already are..

[shirtless]

Thailand has a big problem , sugar diabetes and there are many overweight Thais , They are on average still slimmer than westerners , Healthier i doubt it.

[pgrahmm]

Thank 7/11.....

They're everywhere in the country with their chips, 5-10 baht cookies & unhealthy snacks.....They're entrenching themselves in areas long before the McD's & BK's, etc....

They are the convenient trailblazers & pace setters.......

The flag bearers for the obesity brigade.....

Edited June 26, 2016 by pgrahmm

[gyrosman]

what do you care, is your girlfriend eating PIZZA COMPANY?

[clockman]

1 in10 is diabetic!

[oxo1947]

They have got the same problem in China------- I was reading about this 3 year old kid who weighs nearly 9 stone.

His parents say he's so fat he can hardly walk to work in the morning.................................

[NoshowJones]

Yes, but their driving will have improved.

Thai drivers driving improved???? Most certainly not, especially with their mentality.

[KarlosInBKK]

I work in large school of 3000+ students and it seems that students are getting fatter and fatter each year. We have a large canteen and a few stalls sell junk food (french fries, burgers, bologna on sticks, deep fried crap) and they get a lot of trade. I think one of the problems is that Thais are eating more fatty foods these days and they're still eating as regularly as before. Maybe 3-5 meals plus snacks. My students seem to be constantly eating. I'd say that 1 in 4, or even 1 in 3 of my students are chubby to fat. I first came here in 2005 and there are far fewer slim people than back then. It's sad.

[Jedsada3]

It's not only Thailand.

In industrial countries, parents have no more time for the children.

Then what happens?

They say here 5€ buy yourself some breakfast on the way to school... and evenings, they have no time to cook then buy some fastfood on the way back from work or they let a pizza come.

Few years ago, children were playing on the road, running with friends. Teenagers drove bicycle to meet the BF/GF. Today they sit watching TV or playing computer and they flirt with BF/GF on Skype, Line or Facebook.

They don't move anymore.

The only difference is that in some countries that motionless life started some years before it started in Thailand.

[laislica]

True that the 7/11's make it very easy for folk to get their junk food but the real problem, IMHO,

is that the big companies are flooding emerging countries with all their addictive junk foods.

This is a world wide problem.

The OP's observations centre on where he has been living - Thailand which is understandable.

However, looking at this as a big picture will show who the real culprits are.

Big companies employ an army of scientists who know exactly how to tweak salts and sugars in subtle combinations to make their products as addictive as possible.

Their interest is only profit.

[Junkyarddog]

I see people everyday that are forty pounds over weight and I think that's sad and feel so sorry for them.

I'm only thirty pounds over weight.

[laislica]

I see people everyday that are forty pounds over weight and I think that's sad and feel so sorry for them.

I'm only thirty pounds over weight.

[smotherb]

Technology, my friends may be the culprit for obesity. If we are still employed in physical work, more and more electronic and mechanical devices take on our physical labor. Many, if not most jobs totally rely on technology to complete tasking. Those who think they use their minds to do their work, do so with considerable technological assistance; you don’t even have to sharpen your pencil, fill your pen, turn pages, or go to a library.

Children are no longer physical in their play. They no longer play outside hours every day. They do not even get up and down to change the TV channel; or walk to school or the store, or cut the grass with a push mower. For many, play amounts to sitting in an armchair with a video control in your hands.

Our food is a double-edged cut. With all the fast-foods, pre-packaged foods, instant this and microwavable that, we not have to cook our meals or turn-on/light-up the stove, prepare and cook the food, or wash the dishes and clean-up by hand afterward. Whether you are eating out or taking it home, your foods are likely to be cooked elsewhere by persons unknown, packaged in throw-away containers, and be more fatty and less healthy than your previous fare.

People simply do not live, work, eat, sleep or play physically anymore—sure, some people exercise and/or play sports. However, those physical activities pale in comparison to the increase in labor savings devices, mechanized transport, electronic entertainment, and an abundance of available fatty foods and drinks.

[NoshowJones]

I am about the only one of my Farang mates who is not over weight, I am partial to drinking milk and have two or three biscuits every night, but go riding and to the exercise park five days a week for nonstop

exercise for about 45 mins, and never drink alcohol.

[BigBadGeordie]

I am about the only one of my Farang mates who is not over weight, I am partial to drinking milk and have two or three biscuits every night, but go riding and to the exercise park five days a week for nonstop

exercise for about 45 mins, and never drink alcohol.

And I missed going to the gym today, never mind that's only 2454 days in a row.

Oh well, will try again tomorrow.

At least I am not having 2 or 3 biscuits a night.

[NickJ]

All Thais....except the ones with a hypothyroid disorder....

[ozyjon]

Did you write this same story back in the 80's

[DaamNaam]

Bakeries. Easy answer.

[lostinisaan]

1 in10 is diabetic!

27 % of students at a bigger school in Ubon R. 2012 were too fat.....

[NoshowJones]

I am about the only one of my Farang mates who is not over weight, I am partial to drinking milk and have two or three biscuits every night, but go riding and to the exercise park five days a week for nonstop

exercise for about 45 mins, and never drink alcohol.

And I missed going to the gym today, never mind that's only 2454 days in a row.

Oh well, will try again tomorrow.

At least I am not having 2 or 3 biscuits a night.

Surely that would be better than drinking alcohol every night as many do.

[daveAustin]

Main causes: sugar-saturation in goodies, more money to eat more fried crap, internet causing distractions from activities.

[sport]

Siam Commercial Bank advert from December 2012

[sead]

Many of the guys i know have kids from 2-10 years that will almost explode.

[starky]

Fyck all that the most important question is who is the bird pictured in the OP.

[Aussie69]

Thank 7/11.....

They're everywhere in the country with their chips, 5-10 baht cookies & unhealthy snacks.....They're entrenching themselves in areas long before the McD's & BK's, etc....

They are the convenient trailblazers & pace setters.......

The flag bearers for the obesity brigade.....

And new 7-11 store opens around the world every 2 hours !!!