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Obesity And Diabetes Still A Problem In Malaysia

Obesity And Diabetes Still A Problem In Malaysia

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Obesity and diabetes are prevalent issues that persists not only worldwide but here in Malaysia as well.

Bernama cited the World Health Organisation (WHO) which reported that 2.8 million people are dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese.

In Malaysia, according to the World Population Review 2019, we have the highest prevalence of obesity among adults in Southeast Asia at 15.6%.

This followed by Brunei 14.1%, Thailand 10% and Indonesia, 6.9%.

Other stats also show that 50.1% of Malaysians are either overweight (30.4%) or obese (19.7%) compared to 2011 when the rates where 29.4% and 15.1% respectively.

Data from the 2019 National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) also revealed that these were particularly high among women (54.7%), ethnic Indians (63.9%) and those in aged 55 to 59 (60.9%).

When it comes to diabetes, the stats show that high numbers of Malaysians are affected as 3.9 million or 1 out 5 people are diagnosed as diabetic.

What’s even more grim is that about 49% of diabetics in Malaysia have never been screened or diagnosed with the disease.

Both obesity and diabetes of these are known as non-communicable diseases (NCD) and more than 80% of fatalities from Covid-19 involved patients who suffered from them prior to the infection, according to Ministry of Health.


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