Travelling Mat Salleh Calls Us Fat, Yes We’re Angry (But He’s Not Wrong)

The 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey reported 54.4% of Malaysians are obese and overweight.

It’s no secret that Malaysia is home to some of the best foods in the Asian region. Many tourists fall in love with the wide range of culinary choices here when they come and visit.

But what do they think of our weight in relation to the great food we have here?

Alex Wanders, a YouTuber who travels and reviews food from all over the world recently posted a video on social media titled “Travelling from the skinniest to the fattest country”.

In the video, he first mentioned the skinniest country he travelled to in Asia, which is Vietnam.

“With an incredible obesity rate of just 2%, it’s no surprise why. Their cuisine is fresh and healthy, low in calories, packed with veggies, and full of lean proteins,” he said.

He added that the lifestyle in Vietnam is healthy, saying that if you head to the beach at 6am you will see crowds of people jogging, running, and doing yoga.

In the second half of the video, he mentions how high Malaysia’s obesity rate is, which is a staggering 54%.

“The diet in Malaysia is a complete opposite (of Vietnam). Fast foods, sugary drinks, and processed meals are everywhere. They even add sugar to salads,” he explained.

Commenting on lifestyle, he said Malaysia is one of the least walkable countries he has ever visited, highlighting that crossing the road in Kuala Lumpur is a challenge in itself.

Malaysians are actually getting fatter

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the Ministry of Health (MOH) dated 2 June, the 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) Key Findings showed the prevalence of obesity and overweight Malaysians increasing from 50.1% in 2019 to 54.4% in 2023.

The post also highlighted health risks that come with being obese and overweight, which include non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholestrol and heart disease.

Almost 2.3 million adults in Malaysia live with NCDs, according to the 2023 NHMS report.

It was also revealed that 15.6% of adults in Malaysia have diabetes, and 84% of adults aged 18 to 29 year old who have the disease did not know they had it.

The report also showed that 17.3% of adults in Malaysia are aware of hypertension while 11.9% don’t know that they have it. The most prevalent age group who do not know they have this NCD are within the age range of 18 to 39.

As for high cholestrol, 7.6 million (33%) adults in Malaysia has the disease. The 2023 NHMS report showed one in two adults with high cholestrol do not know that they have high cholestrol.

A majority of Malaysians are not active in sports nor do they eat enough vegetables

An alarming 84% of Malaysia adults are not active in sports, fitness, and leisure activities. The NHMS report said Malaysians do not walk or cycle from one place to another, showing that 1 in 2 Malaysian adults lead sedentary lifestyles.

Besides that, the report also revealed 95.1% of adults in Malaysia do not consume and adequate amount of fruits and vegetables daily, with only two servings out of the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables consumed daily on average.

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