Obese Kids Reach Alarming Rate In Sultanate
By Azian Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - An alarming rate of obesity among school children in Brunei, numbers exceeding that of neighbouring countries, has been attributed to lack of activity and modern lifestyle.

Dato Paduka Dr. Hj Latif, Special Duties Officer at the Ministry of Education, said boys exceeded girls in childhood obesity, according to a survey conducted by Brunei's First National Nutritional survey in 1998.

For children aged between 5 and 10 years, 17.8 per cent of boys were found overweight while girls made up 8.7 per cent.

Dato Dr Hj Latif blamed video and computer games and television among other things behind this unhealthy phenomenon.

In 2000, a Ministry of Education survey among schoolchildren and students from Primary One to Form Two found out that 14.5 per cent of boys and 14.7 per cent of girls were overweight while 5.6 per cent boys were obese compared to 6.4 per cent girls.

"Obesity among children and teenagers is alarming as 70 per cent of them will become obese adults and face health risks.

"What is more alarming is that diabetes, which is previously associated with adults, is now spreading to children who are obese.

Obesity affects children's emotions and psychology, as they are more prone to be teased.

Obesity among school children is a combination of complex variety of factors, including less physical activity (including playing more video games, watching television) poor dietary habits, environmental causes, hereditary (genetic), socioe-conomic and child's ethnicity. Snacks and fast food are readily available and are cheap," Dato Dr Hj Latif said.

He also said that prevention of obesity among children is not easy and there's no solution to be followed as the most successful approach to the problem. However, a few preventive measures have proved useful. They are positive dietary habits, increased physical activity, and reducing sedentary behaviour.

Schools can play a big role in obesity prevention through initiatives such as increased physical exercise, encouraging healthy diet, healthy lifestyle, health education and involvement of parents and local community.

Meanwhile, according to Associate Professor Wong Mee Lian from National University of Singapore, based on a survey conducted last year among school children in Brunei, it was found that one in three children aged below 12 years are overweight or obese.

Statistics revealed that 23.2 per cent are overweight and 11.5 per cent obese.

In the regional context, the survey revealed the obesity rate in Brunei was higher than in Malaysia and Singapore.

Associate Prof Wong also revealed that among the health problems of obese people are type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (heart diseases, high blood pressure and stroke), certain types of cancer (breast, womb, large intestine, kidney and oesophageal) and gall bladder disease.

Other health problems related to obesity are sleep apnea, hernia, arthritis and musculoskeletal injuries.

Ustaz Hi Mail from the Islamic Dakwah Centre revealed that the Malay Muslim community tops in food intake in the world attending an average of 50 gatherings in one's life span. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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