New data from The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency shows that Malaysia has the second highest obesity rate in Southeast Asia at 19.7% In fact, the high obesity rate here is already a cliché.

According to a survey released the Malaysia health agency in 2019, the adult and child obesity rates in the country are 51% and 30% respectively, which means that one in two adults and one in three children there are overweight.

Why are Malaysians overweighted? In addition to their staple food, they have a cup of high-calorie drink with almost every meal! Malaysians have a cup of coffee for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner, they can have meat bone tea, soya milk, cold noodles, orange plums and so on!

In an effort to change the "all overweight" situation, the Malaysian Ministry of Health has introduced a tax of RM0.40 per 100g of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2019, which was expanded in 2022 and 2023 to include more beverages. The government has also banned fast-food advertisements in children's programs to control the consumption of unhealthy food.

Do you suffer from "weight anxiety"? Do you think these measures will help Malaysia shed its "Asia's Fattest" status?

Cr: foodbev