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Thursday October 8, 2009

Unhealthy lifestyle tied to rise in obesity and diabetics

Compiled by IZATUN SHARI, ANN TAN and A. RAMAN


MANY Malaysians are obese and suffering from diabetes due to an unhealthy lifestyle, such as overeating and a fondness for fast-food and carbonated drinks, Tamil Nesan commented in its editorial.

Prof Dr Nor Azmi Kamaruddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre’s cardiology unit said there was a drastic increase in the number of people with heart disease and diabetes each year.

About 10 years ago only 24.1% were either obese or overweight, but now the figure had risen to 54%.

Dr Nor Azmi said Malaysians were more interested in becoming financially secure, and had forgotten it was necessary to change their lifestyle by paying more attention to their eating habits and allotting time for exercise.

> Schools, colleges and universities had been advised to avoid holding year-end examinations during the Deepavali season, reported Malaysian Nanban.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk S.K. Devamany said these educational institutions should refrain from holding examinations a few days before or after the festive season to enable Hindu students to return home and celebrate the occasion without worry.

Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a sub-heading, it denotes a separate news item.

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