Thursday July 26, 2007
Eating for health
We are what we eat. Knowing what to eat in order to stay healthy is not enough; we must put that into practice.
By WONG L I ZA
wongliza@thestar.com.my
WHAT to eat” is often on people’s minds, whether they want to eat in, eat out or order takeaways.
Factor in a conscious effort to eat healthily, and the decision gets a bit harder to make.
What we eat is crucial to our well-being, as highlighted at the recent Nestlé Media Workshop entitled Nourishing the Family.
A survey jointly conducted by Nestlé Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 2001 on 12,000 primary school children in Peninsular Malaysia showed that 25% of them have weight problems.
 |
School canteens should offer healthier options so that children can eat more healthily at school. |
The results showed that on average, 10 schools sold fried and oily foods while up to six schools sold foods prohibited under the School Canteen Guideline, such as cream biscuits, preserved fruits, chocolates and sweets.
“Children naturally like fried or sweet foods but teach them to eat such foods in moderation and to make healthy choices such as eating fruits,” said Dr Norimah Karim, Associate Professor at UKM’s Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences.
“When we teach children, they absorb everything like a sponge, especially the older children. But to translate that into practice is a different story,” said Dr Norimah, who is secretary of the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity.
“Parents also know what’s good or bad but behaviour change always takes a while. At the end of the day, it has to become a habit. We have to keep motivating and pushing people to practise making healthy choices.”
She added that almost 30% of the schoolchildren missed their breakfast up to three times a week while 5% never had breakfast.
The main reasons were lack of time and appetite.
“We have to teach parents to prepare simple, fast and healthy foods. Bread is the easiest. It can go with cheese, tuna or sardine,” she suggested.
 |
Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamed: ‘Food manufacturers have to be responsible and ethical when making any claims.’ |
The Health Ministry’s Malaysia NCD Surveillance 2005/2006 report, or MyNCDS-1 (released this April) showed that a whopping 97% (or an estimated 11.6 million) of Malaysian adults have at least one risk factor of non-communicable diseases (NCD). This number is expected to increase to 13 million in 2015.
A first of its kind, this nationwide survey collected data from 2,572 Malaysians aged 25 to 64. The survey was aimed at providing important information to determine the current population health status and priorities for intervention. (The method used in the survey was based on a WHO-recommended tool and can be used to compare data between different countries.)
Common risk factors of NCD are: inadequate vegetable and fruit intake, physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol consumption, while intermediate risk factors include obesity, central obesity (based on waist circumference), high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high cholesterol.
From the survey, the most common risk factors among Malaysians were inadequate vegetable and fruit intake (72.8%), physical inactivity (60.1%), high cholesterol (53.5%) and central obesity (48.6%).
Leong Ming Chee, communications director and marketing manager of Nestlé Malaysia, said many Malaysians choose convenience over health and nutrition. Besides, they lead inactive lifestyles.
“Consumers agree on the importance of a healthy diet but there is a behaviour gap of about 20%. The mind is strong but the body is weak,” said Leong, quoting figures from a 2006 Datamonitor Wellness Report which surveyed countries such as the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany.
Leong added that according to a local survey last year of over 1,000 respondents, two-thirds of Malaysians said they knew of the Food Pyramid but less than half could tell the right amount and type of food in each category.
“The healthy eating practice most employed was limiting the intake of oils, fats and sugar, and eating more fruits and vegetables.
“However, a substantial 55% skip main meals, which is harmful,” she said.
According to the same survey, the biggest obstacle in healthy eating was the convenience of fast food outlets.
According to a 2004 AC Nielsen online survey, Malaysia ranked second in the world in terms of weekly fast food consumption. Topping the list was Hong Kong while the Philippines was ranked third.
Another factor quoted in the survey was easy access to tasty and affordable food outside the home.
Motivating factors for eating healthily were easy-to-prepare yet tasty recipes as well as cheaper and more accessible wholesome foods.
“The latest in consumer desires is to return to real food, such as unprocessed, organic, natural and fresh foods,” said Leong.
“Consumers are also definitely drinking less carbonated drinks, eating less red meat and limiting the consumption of alcohol, sweet foods and fried foods,” she said, adding that more people were also exercising regularly.
At present, the Health Ministry and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers are working at introducing a Healthier Choice logo on products. Products bearing this logo will generally be more nutritious, with reduced fat, sugar and sodium content or higher dietary fibre and calcium compared to similar products of the same category.
“Food manufacturers have to be responsible and ethical when making any claims. They must be able to substantiate their claims of having reduced the fat, sugar and sodium content in their products before they are allowed to place the logo on their products,” said Dr Abdul Rahim, director of the Food Safety and Quality division, Health Ministry.
Last year, the ministry launched the second National Plan of Action for Nutrition (NPAN), a 10-year action plan (2006-2015) that strives to achieve and maintain optimal nutritional well-being among Malaysians. Its two objectives are to enhance the nutritional status of the population, and to prevent and control diet-related, non-communicable diseases.
RSS
