Roti Canai, Teh Tarik, Obesity & Diabetes

The rising cases of diabetes and obesity are a cause of concern in Malaysian society, says a specialist.

Seremban KPJ Specialist Hospital General Upper GI Surgeon Dr A. Vijaya Shankar urged the public to avoid eating at 24-hour restaurants as it contributes to obesity and diabetes, highlighting the main culprits for the problem being roti canai and teh tarik.

“Even though people already know that roti canai contains high calories and teh tarik has high sugar contents, they just don’t care because these are the popular food items amongst the population.

“People are used to hang out at 24 hours restaurants and enjoying their roti canai and teh tarik. This isn’t healthy and they contribute to the rising cases of obesity and diabetes,” he said when met after the closing ceremony of Obesity Week 2018 celebration at Dewan Anugerah at the KPJ Seremban hospital. The program was attended by the hospital CEO Maisarah Omar.

Dr Vijaya said roti canai and teh tarik are popular because they are easy to prepare within 5 minutes.

“We no longer cook our own meals like in the olden days. Those days, people walk everywhere, tend to their gardens and do yard work, and because of their lifestyle, they were much healthier in the long run.

“These days, people ignore the content of their food, too lazy to exercise or walk which cause them to suffer a lot of illnesses. Sometimes, we need to live like those in the olden days. We should eat right and have a healthier lifestyle. The easiest thing we can do is to climb stairs,” he said.

He adds that more women are obese compared to men, and 40% of adults are obese.

“Children are also getting fatter due to genetics and also because they are following their parents’ eating habits. Find healthier food and avoid 24-hour restaurants,” he advised.

He said obesity, high cholesterol, high blood and diabetes cause metabolic syndrome that could lead to heart attack, stroke and death.

Meanwhile, Maisarah said the programme was conducted to ensure the hospital’s 617 staff control their weight and their health.

“Starting from last year, the management decided that every employee will get an increase of 2% to their KPIs if they take care of their health. We want them to show a good example for our patients,” she said.