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Brunei’s Fat Problem On
Rise
By Ignatius Stephen
Bandar Seri Begawan – He stands majestically straight and tall. A
pillar of strength, no doubt. And surely the perfect picture of health
and vitality.
‘‘There is not an ounce of
extra flesh on him,’’ a rapt onlooker remarks.
Because his youthful
appearance and military bearing belies the sixty years which he
celebrated just a month ago.
He leads a very active
life and his subjects know what a keen sportsman he is. He strides by
briskly at a pace many who accompanies him in one of his royal
walk-about find it difficult to keep up.
He has led walkathons and
physical warming up sessions setting a vital example to his subjects on
the importance of keeping fit and the benefit of regular exercise.
The health hazards of
smoking have also come under royal concern and the monarch signed an
international legislation on Tobacco Control in June 2004.
But having said all that
how fit are his subjects?
Unfortunately not that
much. And the deadly result of this sad story is clear to all.
Brunei has vastly improved
its public health services. That is a plain fact. Hospitals are built,
clinics set up in remote areas, equipment constantly modernised and
health staff trained.
Brunei’s health care
system is second to none. But the irony hits you hard. More people these
days succumb to heart disease and such other diseases in the country
than ever before.
Doctors say changes in
lifestyle as Brunei people acquire modern trappings, and, yes, better
food cause more people die of heart failures and related ailments .
In 1999, only 256 people
died of diseases of the circulatory system.
But by 2002, deaths had
gone up to 341.
Bruneians
are becoming too fat. And as a consequence almost everyone seems want to
go on diet one day. But that day never comes.
And exercise? It is the
same story.
Most people too find
smoking not easy to give up.
What then can anyone do to
beat this problem of the heart? Like many other snags the heart is a
matter of the mind. It is all in your head, doctors say.
‘‘It is a matter of
education. If we can convince the people the benefits of balance meals,
dangers of soft drinks and smoking we can win this war, ’’ a young local
doctor said.
With this in mind Brunei
would be soon join the world in this year’s battle of the heart.
The three-week programme
stretches from this Sunday to September 10 when the nation will launch
its Healthy Heart Month 2006 at Gleneagles JPMC foyer. The slogan ‘‘How
Young Is Your Heart? ,’’ is the question which is expected make many to
sit up and think.
How Young Is Your Heart?
Bruneians should follow the example of its ruler who encourages the
advantages of a healthy lifestyle. If they ignore this royal message
they could go downhill all the way and rapidly.
Other events to follow
during the campaign are to be held at the Yayasan Complex on August 27,
Suri Seri Begawan Hospital (September 3) and a grand finale on September
10 at the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar Ali Saiffudin in the capital with the
launch of World Heart Day.
But commendable as these
efforts are, do these really, so to speak, reach out to the heart of the
matter?
At best, we could take it
as a start.
But the real push was
given more than 10 years ago when the local medical authorities launched
its own Heart Month.
Countless centres were set
up all over the country at major government departments and public
places for mass blood and related checks.
It was an astounding
success. Thousands flock in.
It was the first time
anyone had even heard of high cholesterol levels. In Bandar Seri Begawan
and other centres it became the talk of the town.
Even roadside hawkers were
heard discussing their cholesterol problems.
It was then it was
discovered that most Brunei people were real heavyweights.
Continuous repast of fried
noodles, fried rice, nasi lemak and roti canai had taken their toll.
Yes, the majority needed
to slim down and watch their diet.
The Heart Month at that
time awakened the consciousness of the nation in a big way. That
exercise was never repeated on that scale. But the need is there.
‘‘We should embark on some
thing of that proportion to awaken awareness,’’ said a local health
worker.
And sooner the better.
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I like what Ministry of
Culture Youth & Sports have been doing. Go out and do the exercises
regularly. Lead by example as His Majesty who is doing it now.
Departments and Ministries should set aside a day in a week to take its
staff on some exercise routine in some corner of their premises.
Allocate 30 minutes workout. At least staff will be fresh to do work the
next day.
I am sure something can be done to accommodate departments and
ministries to do the exercise before or maybe after office hours. Before
can be difficult. Maybe slightly after office hours before they fetch
their children from school.
Name: pushover
Email: pushover@gmail.com
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When does fat become a problem? Or is fat really a problem? I believe
not all those 341 people died in 2002 due to heart problems were fat.
We
cannot just take some statistical figures at face value and then came
into some fat conclusion. Detailed analysis on the figures would have
been more telling.
Name: I'm not a statistic!
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It’s nice to see these Brunei women with layers of fat everywhere after
only a few years of their marriage. "Badan sudah masuk angin, bah!" No
need of traditional treatment to slim you all down. It is a waste of
good money.
And you are making it easy for the men to look elsewhere.
Men aged 53 who works for the government of Brunei need not worry
because these Indonesian ladies are waiting for them offering the
benefit of cheapest drawry. And these ladies are giving their sexy
bodies for a quick marriage.
Then ten years down the line the Brunei men
aged 65 have to think of something else. I think Ignatius we have to
practice the "copy" and "paste" mentality all the time. Don't worry,
these men aged 65 years and above after getting married with the help of
the cheapest dawry and getting sexy body for a wife, has something else
coming.
This old pensioner will have to hold up his trousers all the
time because he would have become so thin from worry and problems and
his pockets would be empty, thanks to his Indonesian wife.
For the women, they may be the weaker sex, but watch out! They practice
the “queen control” strategy. But, when divorce happens, they become
wild in the bush.
They walk off to Indonesia with everything. Well, JAPEM has to look into this matter while thinking of body shaping and
health concerns.
Think of the Indonesian women who can play their
cunning role on retired government servants and ruin them. They are
making a fool of so many of these men. These scheming females could turn
Brunei into something like the East Coast of Sabah especially Tawau,
Lahad Datu, Sandakan and Bukit Garam in Kinabatangan.
From: A fellow journalist.
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As much as I agree that men get away with it, I think we should not get
carried away with pointing the finger on which of the fairer sex gets
more name-calling or the other.
The real criminal here is yourself. Stop
blaming the foodstalls, mamihs, your metabolism, or someone else. Humans
are very good at shifting the blame to someone else, but are never brave
enough to take a good look in the mirror.
You're FAT, and it's your own fault.
People need to make a living, and some people's specialty is cooking. It
may not be healthy, but it's their way of life. No one forced you to eat
their unhealthy food just because it's cheap.
You should also be old enough to know how long it takes for your body to
digest different types of food, and hence, have to adjust your eating
habits around it. If you don't, then obviously you're fat, and you know
why.
Perhaps one thing cafe owners like Ignatius Stephen could do is to
reduce the prices of healthy food such as salads and fruit juices. This
way, people will stop finding fault with vendors, because they can prove
they've done their part to help the population. And if you're still fat
after that, again, it's definitely your fault.
Name: Anti-sexual discrimination
Email: phreaked31@gmail.com
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What a good idea. Low carb diet could be highlighted and priced
differently. It's worth a try.
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What to say since 'makan' or 'jamuan' is always the top agenda of any
gathering, meeting or official event even at national level.
The cost
for the so called official feast really takes large portion of the
budget for any event. The success and failure of any official event
entirely dependents on what menu of the 'feast agenda' during the
meeting or gathering.
With 'makan' utensils are ready nearby while the
meeting is going on, no body will dare to disagree on anything put
forward during the meeting so as to make the meeting short and more time
can be utilized for 'makan'!
For domestic event such as a Wedding
Ceremony the success of the ceremony is measured by what food or meals
being served to the invited guests rather than actual success of the
marriage of the couple!
The problem of obesity, overweight or heart
failures or whatever seemed cannot be avoided unless the government
(particularly majority of government servants are overweight) take the
initiative to ban 'jamuan' from the agenda of any meeting or official
gathering whether its heavy jamuan or light refreshment - ban it once
for all!
Name: sean marshal
Email: sonofmars15oct@yahoo.com
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Yes, indeed, you are right. Men have the largest number of heart cases.
There should be no excuses or cover-ups.
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Besides changing eating habits & encouraging exercise among Bruneians, I
seriously think that people should stop labelling overweight people with
cutsie names. For instance, fat men are called, "Lemak berkrim", "Cute",
"Teletubby", "Sanang hati", "Kana pam", "Doraemon" and "teddy bear".
These names are often used for overweight males while females are simply
called FAT!
We are condoning males to be fat & punishing women for being
overweight. Women shouldn't be punished
or treated harshly because of their size.
Funny thing is that fat men can get away with carrying excess weight
even when they cannot say, "I'm pregnant, lah!"
Name: babe
Email: babeabdul@yahoo.com
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Yes, indeed, you are right. Men have the largest number of heart cases.
There should be no excuses or cover-ups.
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You should start by banning smoking in your cafe. This is one of the
reasons my friends and I refuse to visit there. Even in the open-air
area.
You should seriously consider to totally ban smoking once and for all in
your cafe! Not just saying without action!
Name: Hate Smoking
Email: femalebrainpower@yahoo.com
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I must thank the writer "Hate Smoking" who suggested that smoking should
be banned at the DeRoyalle Cafe.
However she misses the point.
The aim is to make people voluntarily quit smoking. That requires a
change of mindset.
Banning will only make people go away and smoke elsewhere.
It is a matter of the mind.
Also the cafe's main section is a non-smoking area.
However the point made is taken. I hope it will go towards creating
increased awareness.
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