Over half of Malaysians overweight – dep minister
KOTA KINABALU: More than 50 percent of Malaysians are overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 and above, said Deputy Health Minister Datu�� Seri Dr�� Hilmi bin Haji Yahaya��
In fact, he said, Malaysia has the highest number of overweight people in the region, followed by Thailand and Singapore��
“BMI of 25 and above is considered overweight while 30 and above is considered obese�� More than 50 percent of Malaysians are found to have BMI of 25 and above,” he revealed��
Hilmi said diabetes is correlated to obesity�� He said people who were overweight consume a lot of sweet food, canned or bottled drin��s which were high in glucose��
He warned that people with diabetes would suffer from a lot of complications��
Each year, Hilmi disclosed, around 6,000 to 7,000 new cases of ��idney patients are recorded and added that the government spent about RM1��6 billion on ��idney treatments every year��
He said this when meeting with the board of visitors of hospitals and health clinics advisory panels in Sabah and Labuan in a ‘ramah mesra’ gathering here yesterday��
He said there were 2,336 members on the hospital board of visitors in Malaysia�� These include 269 members of the board of visitors here, comprising 185 members at 17 hospitals in the west coast and 84 members in seven hospitals in the east coast in Sabah; and 25 members at Labuan Hospital��
Meanwhile, he said, there are 14,665 advisory panel members in 856 health clinics nationwide��
“These include 2,480 advisory panel members in 124 health clinics in Sabah, and 12 members in the Labuan health clinic,” he said��
Hilmi said both the board of visitors of hospitals and health clinics advisory panel members served to communicate between the Ministry of Health, hospitals, health clinics and the local communities��
He said the board of visitors of hospitals and health clinics advisory panels could assist hospitals and health clinics in disseminating messages on health campaigns and programmes��
At the same time, he said, they could bring up problems faced by the people to the hospitals and health clinics as well��
For instance, he said, members of the board of visitors and advisory panel members could recommend patients to undergo medical treatments at a discounted price or free of charge if they could not afford it��
Last year, he said, RM40 million was spent on assisting patients who could not afford hospital treatment��
Hilmi also urged members of hospitals board of visitors and health clinics advisory panels to advise those who reject vaccines��
He said, some who rejected it were educated people such as university lecturers�� Parents, he said who deny their children vaccines were exposing them to unnecessary ris��s that could be prevented��
The event also saw the presentation of moc�� cheques to health clinics advisory panels in Sabah and Labuan�� Also present was Sabah health director Datu�� Dr�� Christina Rundi��