Overweight and obesity occur among one in two adults in Malaysia.

Almost one-third of the adults worldwide will be overweight, and more than one billion will be obese by 2025.

“Everybody Needs to Act” is the theme for World Obesity Day celebrated on March 4.

We, as part of society, should do our parts to fight against obesity and change our lifestyle towards a healthier one.¹

Obesity is a silent killer that causes metabolic changes in our body, leading to non-communicable diseases and asymptomatic adverse consequences.

In addition, the global burden of obesity has increased the risks of many non-communicable diseases.

Obesity may induce hypertension by over-activating our sympathetic nervous system, stimulating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, altering the adipose-derived cytokines, causing insulin resistance, and changing kidney structures and functions.²

Obesity-related hypertension may lead to severe complications like heart diseases, stroke and renal diseases.

The Malaysian Community Salt Study (MyCoSS) 2017-2018 reported that obese people were four times more likely to develop hypertension than those with normal weight.³

Maintaining a healthy weight helps control blood pressure and reduce the risks for complications of hypertension.⁴

So, weight loss could help reduce the risk of developing obesity-related hypertension.

The fundamental cause of obesity is an imbalance between the calories consumed and calories spent.⁵

Hence, dietary intake and physical activities remain the key features in obtaining a healthy weight.

Here are some tips on getting started towards a healthier weight:

1. Be ready mentally and physically to be determined to change to obtain a healthier weight.
2. Set goals aiming to lose 5 to 10% of the current body weight in six months, start slow with aiming to lose 0.5 to 1kg in a week.
3. Eat healthily with reduced calories by limiting energy intake from fats and sugar, increase fruits and vegetable intake. More tips on healthy eating are available at Nutrition Department Ministry of Health Facebook Page.
4. Drink plenty of plain water, with six to eight glasses daily.
5. Do more activities to reduce sedentary lifestyle, like taking short walking breaks between tasks or doing X-break exercises.
6. Exercise moderately regularly, at least 150 minutes a week.
7. Get expert support by joining the “I Fit and Eat Right (IFitEr)” program by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM) from the nearest Wellness Hub.
8. Get support from support groups at the nearest Wellness Hub, besides family and friends.

For a healthier lifestyle, reducing alcohol consumption and quitting smoking could help enhance one’s health status in preventing non-communicable diseases like hypertension.

When one is ready to quit smoking, feel free to seek help from the JomQuit program by the Ministry of Health.

Kickstart now for a healthier weight, healthier body, and healthier life.

Although we might not see the outcome of a healthy lifestyle change immediately, get started with a strong will and be persevere, we shall see a healthier self in its due time.

References:

1. World Obesity Federation. (2022). World Obesity Day is on the horizon
2. Shariq, O. A., & McKenzie, T. J. (2020). Obesity-related hypertension: a review of pathophysiology, management, and the role of metabolic surgery. Gland surgery, 9(1), 80–93.
3. Zaki, Nor Azian Mohd, Ambak, Rashidah, Othman, Fatimah, Wong, Norazizah Ibrahim, Man, Cheong Siew, Morad, Mohamad Faizul Azham, . . . Baharudin, Azli. (2021). The prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian adults and its associated risk factors: data from Malaysian Community Salt Study (MyCoSS).
4. Jalal Poorolajal, Elham Hooshmand, Masoud Bahrami, Pegah Ameri. (2017). How much excess weight loss can reduce the risk of hypertension?, Journal of Public Health, Volume 39, Issue 3, Pages e95–e102
5. World Health Organization (WHO). (2021) Obesity and Overweight.

(Dr. Yoong Lee Yeen, Professor Dr. Moy Foong Ming, and Professor Dr. Sanjay Rampal, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya.)