Childhood Obesity In Malaysia Statistics 2018
Addressing the global health challenge of obesity in malaysia.
Childhood obesity in malaysia statistics 2018. Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5 19 were overweight or obese in 2016. The prevalence in children below 18 years was. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5 19 has risen dramatically from just 4 in 1975 to just over 18 in 2016. Obesity rates among children in asia pacific are rising at a rapid rate.
Malaysia is one of the most overweight countries in southeast asia. The figures are grim in malaysia too. National child measurement programme 2019 13 7 is the lowest childhood obesity rate in uk which is in guildford surrey. Though body fatness is heritable the environmental factors play a more important role in body weight because we can modify our environment.
Studies by the nutrition society of malaysia revealed that almost 30 of children and teenagers aged between 6 and 17 were either overweight or obese. According to the world population review 2019 malaysia has the highest prevalence of obesity among adults in south east asia at 15 6 per cent followed by brunei 14 1 per cent thailand 10 0 per cent and indonesia 6 9 per cent. And the academy of medical sciences united kingdom april 2018. Farhan not his real name was taken to a private hospital by his parents to seek treatment for an infection on his right leg.
The main cause of obesity in children is exogenous obesity which is due to external factors. Almost half of the children under 5 who were overweight or obese in 2019 lived in asia. According to the latest statistics from the national health morbidity survey more than 7 of children in malaysia under five years of age have been identified as overweight.