Failing to control diets, more Malaysians suffer from diabetes

The failure of Malaysians to control their diets even after realising that this can cause various non-communicable diseases (NCD), has resulted in an increasing number of people suffering from one of such diseases - diabetes.

The percentage of Malaysians diagnosed with diabetes has increased year-on-year, causing alarm to the Ministry of Health (MOH), said the ministry's Nutrition Division director Rokiah Don on Wednesday.

She said statistics from the National Health and Morbidity Survey showed that the number of diabetes patients aged 18 years and above had increased to 31 per cent this year, up from 15.2 per cent in 2011.

"We are worried because more and more young people are suffering from diabetes, considering the fact that this NCD disease before used to only affect those who were older," she said at the 'Health and Nutrition: Improvement is a Joint Effort' seminar organised by the Malaysian Food Manufacturing Group of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM-MAFMAG) here.

FMM-MAFMAG chairman Adnan Pawanteh and Nutrition Society of Malaysia president Dr Tee E-Siong were also present at the one-day seminar aimed at raising awareness on nutrition and health.

Rokiah said the increase in the percentage of patients suffering diabetes also correlated with the increase in the number of people who were obese.

"Many people do not realise that obesity leads to other NCD risks such as heart disease and high blood pressure," she said.

Public Health Physician and Head of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Unit, Department of Disease Control in the MOH, Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha said if NCD was not controlled, it could invite death at a young age, besides causing permanent disability.

"Death at a young age and permanent disability could ultimately lead to a decline in the quality of life, affecting productivity and resulting in a loss of human and economic resources within the society and country," he said.

Therefore, he said the Ministry of Health would continue to carry out campaigns to encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and increase their awareness of NCDs.

NCD diseases include heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancer, hypertension, stroke, respiratory diseases, and the effects of drug abuse, alcohol and smoking.