Malaysians paying a steep price for unhealthy living

BT: KUALA LUMPUR: Unhealthy lifestyle — from smoking and over-eating to lack of exercise — is taking its toll on Malaysians.
For years, the country has struggled to cope with the increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular illnesses, cancer and diabetes.
But the most effective answer lies within every Malaysian — change your habits.
People today are eating and smoking more and exercising less, and these habits are reasons why millions die every year from one of these diseases.
If global trends persist, 270 million Asians will die from chronic diseases between 2005 and 2015 and most from the low income bracket in countries like Indonesia, Pakistan, India and China, the AFP reports.
Last year’s figures show that more than 10,000 people in Malaysia died each year from diseases linked to hypertension like stroke, heart attack and renal failure, including about 6,000 deaths due to coronary heart disease.
Three million suffer from high cholesterol while another 2.1 million have diabetes.
Malaysia also has the most overweight and obese people in Asia, about 25 per cent.
Every day, about 110 Malaysians suffer a stroke, the country's third killer after cancer and heart attack. More than 40,000 new cancer cases are reported annually.
One in three Malaysians aged 30 and above suffers from hypertension while only six out of every 100 have their blood pressure under control.
The figures are daunting but is there an answer to this doom and gloom? Yes, says Dr Han Tieru, the World Health Organisation representative for Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.
“Eat healthy, exercise and quit smoking. But it is important that we have to provide the right environment for people to do this,” he said in an interview at Wisma UN today.
For example, to persuade someone to give up smoking, he or she has to be in an environment where smoking is frowned upon.
“If everybody around them is okay with the fact that they smoke, it will not help them want to quit the habit. When you ban smoking from public places, it makes the smoker a little more conscious of the habit and that kind of environment will help you to quit,” he said.
“It is not purely a personal decision (to quit smoking, eat healthily or exercise more). We need policy and environmental support,” Dr Han said.
Compared to her neighbouring countries, Malaysia was doing “quite well” in tackling lifestyle diseases with the introduction of various policies, especially those that had been slated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) that focused on developing human capital, he said.
This, he added, was in line with the theme of the World Health Day 2006, which falls today, titled “Working Together for Health”
The core message of the theme highlights the health workforce and how crucial it is to develop it.
While Malaysia has acknowledged its shortage of doctors and pharmacists, the problem is not only national, but remains a global one.

“There is a global shortage of four million doctors, nurses, midwives and dentists but the situation varies from country to country,” said Dr Han.
The good news is that Malaysia is on track to reach the 1:650 doctor-patient ratio goal by 2020. Figures in the 9MP show that as at last year, the doctor-patient ratio is 1:1,387 while the number of nurses has doubled from the year 2000 to 1: 594.
Among key messages of the World Health Day this year is towards generating enthusiasm, solidarity, support, commitment and most of all, action that aims to improve the working conditions, health and well-being of all who work for health.
“When we look at the manpower, investments in health, facilities and the country’s policies and strategies, Malaysia is in a good position,” he said.
Of course, while this does not mean we can take things easy, not with a global threat looming, efforts must continue to upgrade all aspects of healthcare in the country.
In Brunei, he said, there are aerobics classes tailored for women who want to exercise but not in a leotard, preferring instead to wear a baju kurung.
In Johor, there are community centres where housewives are taught how to cook healthy meals.
“These kind of community-based programmes are effective in changing people’s unhealthy lifestyle habits.”