Obesity Essay

These two articles is about the nasi lemak become a target in Malaysia’s fight against obesity and the reasons why we are getting fat.
      Nasi lemak is widely eaten in Malaysia, even as a dish served in Malaysian schools and commonly a breakfast dish in our country. According to a study by the National University Malaysia had found out that obesity among schoolchildren went up from 11 percent in year 2002 to 13.3 percent year 2008 because of nasi lemak. The schoolchildren like to eat nasi lemak very much because of the ingredients that go into it. Some school canteen can sell up to 150 plates of steaming nasi lemak a day at primary school with some 1000 pupils. A normal plate of nasi lemak – rice cooked in coconut milk and served with a fried egg, anchovies and chili sauce is contains 494 calories. This dish is being blamed for obesity among students, to the horror of its fans and traders. But then again, the direct translation for its name in Malay, ‘fatty rice’, is clear on what the dish does to you.
      Under the Malaysian Health Ministry’s new guideline that will come into effect this month, canteens can serve nasi lemak only twice a week. The purpose of carry out this guideline is to reduce the percentage of obesity among the students. To raise awareness, a special program to address obesity among youngsters also would be introduced soon. All the authorities are trying to solve this problem.
      Is it nasi lemak is the main cause of obesity? Definitely no! There is a study showed that 87 percent of schoolchildren bought food and drinks from their school canteens and that nasi lemak was among the most popular. But it also found that 76 percent of them spent most of their time watching television or on the computer. They are lack of exercise and it will gain fat very fast. Since they have television, computers and other addicting non-physical activities, they do not go outside anymore. That is the reason why they are getting more and more fat....