KUBANG KERIAN, KELANTAN, June 2015 - Both obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure) are widely known as a silent killer that is common among Malaysians because both these diseases are fatal if their effects are taken lightly.

A senior medical lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Health Sciences, Dr Wan Amir Nizam Wan Ahmad, in an interview at a local radio station, said the Body Mass Index (BMI) is the most common method to measure obesity; a healthy body fat for both men and women is below 25 percent and below 35 percent respectively.

"The major causes of rising obesity rates are dietary intake and genetic factor; according to the statistics of National Health and Morbidity Survey conducted in 2011, 15.1% of Malaysians aged 18 and above were categorised as obese and Malaysia has the highest obesity rate among the Southeast Asia countries," he said.

Wan Amir Nizam said according to new scientific findings, obesity is one of the main contributors to many other diseases, among them diabetes, osteoarthritis, gout and high blood pressure.

"There are two ways to treat obesity, that is to choose nutritious foods, coupled with regular physical activity (exercise) and avoiding treatments with medicines that can cause long-term effects," he added.

"If Malaysians know and are better educated on the consequences and effects of obesity, I believe many will make efforts to maintain a healthy weight and adopt healthy eating habits." - Translation: Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Muhd ​​Zulkifli Zakaria/Photo: Abdul Aziz Latif