Chairperson: A very good morning and welcome to Health Fair forum conducted by Institut

Pendidikan Guru Kampus Pendidikan Teknik. I am Mohammad Arif Bin Sabtu will be the host
for this wonderful forum. Today we are here to discuss the issue about childhood obesity here in
Malaysia. It is one of the biggest health problems facing by the children nowadays. We hope
this forum will be your source of good information about your health. We have assembled here
with our panels to share information. According to the 2013 South East Asian Nutrition Survey
cited that 21.6 percent children aged between six months and 12 years fell under the overweight
or obese category. What we are going to do to overcome the obesity problem? For our forum
today, we have with us Dr Tay Wei Wei, M.P.H. pediatrician from children Hospital, Kuala
Lumpur, chef of children and family service, Johor school district, Dr. Muhamad Taufik Hidayat
Bin Husni and last but not least Dato Muhammad Izzat Syahmi Bin Basri from Negeri Sebilan
Health Department. Thanks for coming.

Chairperson: So Doctor Tay, what is the factors cause childhood obesity?

Doctor Tay: The main factor which causes childhood obesity is food. Pupils take too much of
unhealthy food. Most of the children will not have the time to take a good breakfast at home.
The children have to take their breakfast in the school canteen that sells nasi lemak and
noodles. We made our children to eat the wrong food or breakfast at the school canteen,
because they have to go to school very early in the morning.

Chairperson: What is a good breakfast actually?

Doctor Tay: A good breakfast is to have fruits or fruits juice such as apples, bananas, oranges
or papayas as our main drink in the early morning. Fruit juices will clean and nourish our body. It
helps to stabilize the acidic and alkaline balance in our body. We should have foods that contain
protein such as half boiled eggs, bakes beans, roasted chicken, lamb or beef. We should have
foods that contain fibers such as cereals, oats, and corn flakes with milk. We can have toasted
brown bread spread with honey or fruit jam. On addition to that we may have a cup of green tea
with no honey.

Dr Taufik: Yes Doctor I agree with you. We Malaysian are actually taking wrong breakfast.
Nowadays we need to do our things as quickly as we could and everything we have to do as
fast as possible. We ignore our breakfast because we have to be early at work which starts at
7.30am or we wake up very late in the morning and we have no time for breakfast. Because of
this both parents and children are having their breakfast at the school and office canteen. What
do they eat at the canteen? Whatever is available at the canteen, nasi lemak and noodles and
tea tarik and hot coffee for a drink? Very few Malaysians are having breakfast at home and if
they do they will eat either nasi lemak, noodles or fried food with onions and ikan bilis. We have
to admit that most Malaysians are not having good food for their breakfast and eating the wrong
food for their breakfast at the school and office canteen is one of the major reasons why we are
not very productive either at schools or in the offices.

Dato Izaat: In my opinion obesity is also caused by wrong lifestyle. Wrong lifestyles are caused
by our wrong belief and mental outlook. When we have wrong belief and mental outlook, we will
have wrong lifestyles. Because of wrong lifestyles we have both emotional and physical stress.
Stress causes us to take more carbohydrate and sugar in our diets. With foods that contain
more carbohydrates and sugar we tend to be calmer. School children who are experiencing
stress will like to eat more foods that contain sugar and carbohydrate such as ice cream,
chocolates, nasi lemak and carbonated drinks. When we take foods that contain more sugar
and carbohydrate such as nasi lemak at one time, the body will produce more insulin at a time.
The greater amount of insulin produce will causes the extra sugar in the body to be quickly
converted into glucose and stored in the body and because of this less or no sugar can be taken
to the brain. When our brain do not receives sufficient amount of sugar, we tend to be sleepy
and loose our concentration. It is true that it is not good for our children to take foods that
contain plenty of sugar or carbohydrate for their breakfast. It is very important for our children to
take breakfast in the early morning before they go to schools.

Chairperson: Doctor do you think the parents are aware of the obesity issue? Doctor Tay
:From my point of view , I get to know that the parents are not clear on What they have to do.
There are no behavior changes , taking nasi lemak as their breakfast and taking a large amount
of sugary and carbonated drinks almost every day. On the other hand working parents are
offering outside food which contains more unhealthy ingredients for their children.

Dato Izaat: Yes I agree with you. Some parents even award fast food for their children success.
Actually home is the best place to start promoting a healthier environment for children. Parents
should expose their children with healthy food by feeding them more vegetables and fruits.

Dr Taufik: How is it possible sir, if the parents themselves not eating vegetables and fruits.
Parents are their model, the children will imitate whatever their parents do so, if they saw their
father and mother eating more vegetables and fruits most likely the child will follow their
footsteps. For them their parents are their hero.
Doctor Tay: There is another important point that I would like to add on, parents should involve
their children in planning and preparing healthy meals. Take them to market and grocery
shopping so that they will learn how to make healthy food choices. Besides that, ask them to
help while preparing food like washing and cutting the vegetables and fruits.

Chairperson: Yes doctor food is the main reason for obesity especially junk food. Many of the
junk food have a high content of sugar, salt and fat as well as artificial flavoring and the dangers
of children relying on junk food may cause low nutritional value, major concern have been
raised about the health of an entire generation. Dr Taufik can you tell us why the children are so
keen with the junk food?

Dr Taufik: It is undeniable, the children love junk food. Advertisers and manufactures of junk
food, face the most criticism for their marketing plays, such as including toys with products or
placing advertisements during childrens television programmers. Advertising of food high in fat,
sugar and salt has a direct effect on children wanting and eating these unhealthy foods which
lead to obesity. From a survey, by advertising fatty and sugary food they earn RM 100 million
ringgit per year and consumer associations have repeatedly called for ban in junk food
promotion.

Dato Izaat: Here I would like to share about the survey we had done recently with primary
school children about healthy diet. A boy name Saiful said pizza is my favorite, If my mother
makes dinner, I dont like it so, I just order a delivery to my house There is a girl who says I
usually skip breakfast because I dont have the appetite for anything early in the morning so Ill
just grab some candy bars to munch if I feel hunger before recess These show how they love
unhealthy food. Dato Izaat: Parents should set some guidelines for the time spent by the
children for sedentary activities such as watching television and playing computer or video
games with junk food in their hands. They will forget about sweat but only air-cond condition
with junk food on the table. These will lead them to overweight and obese.

Chairperson: Well that was a good one. As parents, we should play important role in feeding
the children and educate them with healthy food. Maintaining healthy way has a lot to do with
food and also the right amount of exercises. Are they getting enough exercise in school and at
home?

Dr Taufik: From my opinion children now spend less time being physically active during school
as well as at home. There has been an immense change over the years in childrens
entertainment from physical or outdoor activities to indoor video games and television. To
further compound this problem, there are not many safe or conducive places to play or be active
outdoors, especially in urban areas. To curb obesity among children, the entire family must lead
an active lifestyle I would recommend that parents should exercise with their children daily. Plan
for family activities such as cycling, walking, jogging or just washing the car can keep your
children active.

Chairperson: Unhealthy diet and lack of exercise causes life threatening disease too. Doctor
What are the health problems faced by the obesity children and what is your advice?

Doctor Tay : More young people, some as young as seven are suffering from Type 2 diabetes.
Overweight and obese children are also more likely to become overweight or obese teenagers,
and if the situation is not addressed, they will turn into overweight adults. Children who are
obese are also more likely to have disease such as impaired glucose tolerance, decreased
insulin resistance, suffer liver disease and so on. So, it is advisable to use healthier cooking
methods such as steaming, boiling, grilling and baking. Children also should take more fresh
fruits and vegetables. Plain drinking water also is made available to school children at all times
to avoid diseases.

Dato Izaat: Children who are obese normally emotionally andpsychological effected besides of
life-threatening illness. Children also suffer from teasing by their peers,discriminatedfrom family
and friends, low-self esteem and depression among thepsychologicaleffect. These cause the
children being passive and not performing well. There were several cases of commit suicide too
because of being bullied and tease by peers.Chairperson: Before we end our forum, What are
steps should be taken to overcome childhood obesity?

Dr Taufik: I would like to give some suggestions about creating a better awareness and
understanding about the body measurements as a guide to our health. Body Mass Index (BMI)
should be listed in their report card. The Health Minister also is campaigning for people to know
their BMI. I think the campaign should aim for more practical and easier measurements for
people to understand and relate to. BMI also is useful for doctors and health professionals to
classify and advise the patients accordingly.

Doctor Tay: As parents, we should play important role in feeding the children . We should
closely monitor what goes in our kids tummy. No doubt there are some mothers who love to
cook and feed the whole family with great food. Thus, we shall have to eat healthy food by the
food pyramid. In order to promote a healthy lifestyle and eating nutritious food, we as parents
has to start first. Cook homemade food instead of buying outside or fast food. Bring along
children to exercise. Children are good observer, they imitate what we do. At the same allow
junk food only once a month in small quality not a daily food.

Dato Izaat: Thats true. Small hawkers selling junk food near the school area should be
prohibited. All school children need to undergo fitness test and parents together with their
children should involve in different kinds of outdoor activities and exercises.

Chairperson: Thank you sir. We hope from our discussion today our community will be aware
of the childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has been linked to numerous medical conditions.
These conditions include, but are not limited to, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, Type 2
diabetes, asthma, fatty liver disease, high cholesterol, glucose intolerance and insulin
resistance, and, breathing difficulties like asthma. Until recently, many of the above health
conditions had only been found in adults; now they are extremely prevalent in obese children.
Although most of the physical health conditions associated with childhood obesity are
preventable and can disappear when a child or adolescent reaches a healthy weight, some
continue to have negative consequences throughout adulthood. In the worst cases, some of
these health conditions can even result in death. We also hope we will definitely solve the
problems or at least reduce the childhood obesity level in Malaysia. Prevention is better than
cure. Thank you very much to our panels Doctor Tay, Dr Taufik and Dato Izaat for sharing
opinion and information with us. Thats all for our topic today. Thank you and good night.