According to the latest Oxfam International report on worldwide food quality, Malaysian was ranked the fattest country in Southeast Asia, and sixth in the Asia Pacific Region.
The report, titled the Good Enough to Eat Index, aims to understand the best and worst places to eat around the world while highlighting some of the areas of critical concern for many countries when it comes to making sure that people can eat well.
“Around the world, one in eight people go to bed hungry every night despite there being enough food for everyone. Overconsumption, misuse of resources and waste are common elements of a system that leaves hundreds of millions without enough to eat,” the report says.
The survey conducted by the UK-based poverty and disaster relief group found that Malaysians generally did not suffer from undernourishment. It also showed that Malaysia scored 76 out of 100 under the diet diversity category, indicating that while food is easily accessible, the food being offered lacked nutritional diversity.
The Star reports:
Food affordability also seemed to be a problem for Malaysia, with the country scoring a higher-than-average mark of 57 in terms of price levels.
These levels, according to Oxfam, were relative to other goods and services.
The tendency for food prices to fluctuate was however low, with Malaysia coming in with a score of 14.
In 2013, the Malaysian Health Ministry cited statistics from the National Health and Morbidity Surveys that reports over 2.6 million adults were obese while 477,000 children below 18 years old were also overweight.
European countries dominated the top of the ranking, with Netherlands coming in as a country with the most plentiful and healthy food.
Now that we know where Malaysia stands in the global health index, it’ll be a good idea for us to be aware of the average calorie content of our local dishes. Here’s a list of the Top 10 Most Sinful Malaysian Foods to Eat.
