PETALING JAYA: The Ministry of Health recently announced that more than half of the population in Malaysia is overweight or obese, according to the 2023 National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) Key Findings.
The statistic was posted on X, stating that the prevalence of overweight and obese Malaysians increasing to 54.4%, compared to previous findings in 2019 at 50.1%.
The post also highlighted the risks that came with being overweight or obese which include non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholestrol and heart diseases.
The 2023 NHMS report found that almost 2.3 million adults in Malaysia live with three NCDs.
Meanwhile, the report revealed that 15.6% or rather or one in six adults in Malaysia have diabetes. Not only that, 84% of adults aged 18 to 29 years old who have the disease did not know they had it.
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Furthermore, it was found that 29.2% or one out of three adults in the country have hypertension.
The report also showed that 17.3% of adults in Malaysia are aware of having hypertension while 11.9% do not know that they have it. The most prevalent age group who are unaware of having the NCD are within the age range of 18 to 39 years old.
7.6 million (33%) adults in Malaysia have high cholestrol. According to the NHMS 2023 report, one in two adults with high cholesterol do not know that they have high cholesterol. The report discloses that increasing levels of cholesterol often do not show any symptoms.
An individual’s total cholesterol is comprised of high density lipoprotein (HDL) also known as good cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) - known as bad cholesterol and finally 1/5th triglycerides (TG).
An imbalance of the three can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The NHMS 2023 report showed 41% of adults with high LDL levels, 27% of adults have low HDL levels and 23% of adults have high triglyceride levels.
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In terms of the active lifestyles of Malaysian adults, only one in three adults do not lead an active lifestyle.
An alarming 84% of Malaysian adults are not active in sports, fitness and leisure activities as well as do not walk or cycle from one place to another, also 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 an adequate amount of fruit and vegetables daily. Findings showed that only two servings out of the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables were consumed daily on average by adults.
While being overweight or obese puts one at a higher risk of getting an NCD, they are also prone to contracting metabolic syndrome or metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).
It was revealed that 8.5 million (35.9%) adults in Malaysia have metabolic syndrome, mainly prevalent within older age groups of 60 years old and above at 71% and obese individuals at 56%.
The report said that those who have three out five symptoms which include abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood triglycerides (a type of fat in blood), low HDL-cholesterol (’good’ cholesterol) - could increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many cancers, including colon, breast, and liver cancers.
Meanwhile, 6.7 million (28.2%) Malaysian adults have metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).
The disease was found to have a high prevalence within the age group of 50 to 59 years old however, 21% of adults aged between 18 and 29 years old were shown to have the disease.
The report added that MAFLD was “more common among men” with 32% of Malaysian adult men with the disease and 25% of Malaysian adult women recorded with the disease.
MAFLD is the the build-up of extra fat in the liver that is linked with metabolic dysfunction that can lead to “serious liver damage.”
The disease is linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, cancers, and other health issues.
