Automation of chores among reasons for obesity

THE switch from doing household chores manually to automation has contributed to obesity among women, said Parliamentary Secretary to the Health Ministry Datuk Lee Kah Choon.

“At home, most of the work handled by women like washing is done by machines, while at the office men usually take the lift rather than the stairs even for one floor,” he said when replying to a question from Senator Datuk Soon Tian Szu in the Dewan Negara today.

Soon wanted to know why Malaysians were overweight and obese, with women making up one million or 18.8% of the 1.85 million saddled with the problem.

Lee said that a diet high in fat and sugar just added to the problem.

“The intake of food far outweighs the energy needed for daily activities. If left unchecked, this will lead to weight gain,” he added.

Statistics showed that women over 40 have weight problems because office work and family commitments left them with little or no time at all for exercise.

Lee said that a study on the food intake of adults in 2003 found that overweight Malaysians had increased by 26.71% and that the obesity rate had increased three-fold.

The ministry's healthy lifestyle campaign is among steps taken to overcome the problem of obesity among Malaysians. – Bernama

News Poll

Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs

Latest from StarProperty