Obesity in Thailand
[2] With reference to 2016 data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand has one of the highest incidence of overweight citizens in the South East Asian region, second to only Malaysia.
[2] The Thai National Health Examination Surveys (NHES) found that obesity in Thailand more than doubled during the period 1991-2014.
[3] This spike in obesity levels has been largely attributed to increased access to junk food,[4] and unhealthy switches from active to sedentary lifestyles.
5 years later, the 2014 survey showed the prevalence of overweight and obesity in females increased to 43% and rose to 33% in males.
In 2011, the WHO found that 32.6% of Thais were overweight,[11] ranking the country second heaviest in South East Asia, with higher obesity levels than more affluent nations including the Republic of Korea, Japan and Singapore.
[15] The Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was set up in 2005 to track the health status of Thais.
[citation needed] The prevalence of obesity in Thailand coincides with increased intake of sugary drinks.
[16] In 1992, a 5 year follow-up study involving primary and secondary schools of Hat Yai municipality, south Thailand was conducted.
[17] Comparing results from NHES released in 1996 and a separate national survey conducted in 2001,[18][19] obesity levels in children aged 2 to 12 years experienced a rise.
[20] In 2007, a school-based cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity in Thai children in rural Ongkharak.
[21] The Global Burden of Disease Study over the time period 1980 – 2013 showed that childhood obesity in developing countries increased from 8.1% to 12.9% for boys and from 8.4% to 13.4% in girls.
[24] In the following year, Priest Hospital released a report documenting the prevalence of obesity related health issues amongst monks.
[33] Over the years, the Thai government has launched a series of health campaigns in an attempt to reverse this increasing obesity trend in the country.
[36] The strong presence of fast food advertising on Thai television has been identified as a major culprit in the development of unhealthy eating habits.
[42] Launched in 2010, this campaigned for healthy food consumption and higher levels of exercise to reduce non-communicable diseases.
This campaign advocated the banning of sugary drinks sold in educational institutions as well as added sugar found in follow-up milk powder for babies.
[40] The Thai government responded by implementing a nationwide ban of added sugar in follow-up milk powder for babies.
[47] In 2017, the Health Charter for Buddhist was launched, in an attempt to promote healthy living and curb obesity levels amongst Thai monks.
This was implemented with the aim of creating self-awareness on health issues that are in line with Buddhist values as well as educating the public about importance of healthy eating.
