Tasty food may not be healthy, says Minister

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians need to practice restraint and not choose food based on their cravings.
“Tasty food does not mean healthy food,” Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday in launching the ministry’s Healthy Cafeteria campaign.
“Some people eat non-stop and excessively. And, there are those who get up during the night to eat again. This is unhealthy.”
Liow said the people needed instead to choose healthy and nutritious food.
“Nutritionists always remind us that the key to healthy eating is a balanced diet, diversifying food choices and practising moderation,” he said.
Liow said the ministry tried its best to help maintain the health of Malaysians, but the people also had to help themselves by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
He said the Healthy Cafeteria concept was to create prepared food that was nutritious, safe, clean, and of a quality, acceptable to customers.
Interested food outlets can obtain from the ministry's My Healthy Eating software, which has information on nutrient intake as well as verify a person's body mass index.
Liow later opened the MyNutri Biz Bistro and healthy eating mini carnival. He told reporters the ministry encouraged food outlet operators to obtain the software and to seek advice from ministry officers on how to implement the concept.
The ministry also encouraged other government agencies, including the National Service department, to practise the concept.
The rise of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, coronary problems and hypertension had led to the ministry requesting increased allocations under the annual Budget, he said.
While the budget this year was RM12.9bil, it was expected to increase by 10% under Budget 2009 because of increased medicine prices, he added.
He said the ministry was working with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry on a “less sugar” campaign where food manufacturers and handlers would be asked to use less of the ingredient in their products.
On the Chikungunya outbreak, he said the public needed to cooperate with the ministry to curb the disease from spreading.