The way he cooked that egg, rushed and messy.

Nope.

The way he cooked that egg, rushed and messy.

Nope.

We mock Singapore for their lousy food daily.

But Malaysian food is excessively seasoned with sugar, salt, MSG. And we call it 'sedap! delicious! tasty, best in the world!' A serious situation has now emerged in this country.

Have our taste buds already been damaged?

More importantly, the health of hundreds of thousands of Malaysian adults is already at risk.

What can we do about it? And dare I ask, what can we learn from Singapore where hawkers already paste 'less salt, less sugar' stickers on their stalls for many years, and where running, walking and hiking are national past times?

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The National Health Screening Initiative 2023 has revealed that 53.5%, of Malaysians screened are overweight or obese, ranking first in Asia.

The Kospen screening initiative this year also shows 17.1% with high glucose levels.

Then-Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa disclosed figures in Dewan Rakyat that since the start of the NHSI in July 2022, as many as 62,346 (10.6 per cent) of individuals who have yet to be diagnosed with diabetes were found to have high blood sugar levels, with a glucose reading of more than 7.8 mmol/L.

Negeri Sembilan was top with 33.2 per cent diabetes prevalence, followed by Perlis (32.6 per cent), Pahang (25.7 per cent) and Kedah (24.9 per cent).

In a separate report, the Malaysian daily diet was found to be rich in fats, saturated fats, total sugars, and sodium, with breakfast making a significant contribution to the daily intakes of these nutrients. Intakes of fiber, potassium, calcium, vitamins C and D, folate, iron, zinc, and magnesium were low.

A high frequency of consumption of sugar and sweetened condensed milk was reported among Malaysian adults.

In addition, 52% of adult Malaysians exceeded the dietary sodium intake recommendation from the WHO, while sauces are a major contributor to sodium intake. Dishes such as nasi lemak, fried rice, roti canai, chapati, kueh, and noodle soups are the main culprits.
Sources: National Health Screening Initiative 2023, MDPI Switzerland 2023.