‘Society should respect individuals' choices regarding their food intake’ - MCA vice-president

MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng – BERNAMA FILE PIX

SHAH ALAM – MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng says that society should respect individuals’ choices regarding their food intake, although promoting a healthy lifestyle was encouraged.

“Nevertheless, society needs to respect that individuals can make their own choices over food intake and businesses also need to carry on.

“The most important thing is for eateries or hawkers to maintain hygiene and sanitation of their premises and ensure that ingredients are fresh and do not contain contrabands and have not gone past their use-by dates,” he said in a Facebook post.

Wee also said the goal should be aimed towards fostering an inclusive and supportive environment rather than restricting people’s access to meals through prohibitions.

The Tanjung Piai Member of Parliament (MP) said this following the proposal by the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) for restaurants to be banned from operating 24 hours a day to help reduce health and obesity problems in the country.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview with Sinar Daily recently, Malaysian fitness icon Kevin Zahri highlighted that culturally ingrained practices like “lepak” were not problematic on their own.

Instead, the focus should be on making mindful choices about socialising and balancing food consumption with calorie expenditure.

“Obesity in Malaysia has been a prevalent issue since the 1980s, representing a global health challenge akin to the Covid-19 pandemic, albeit less visibly apparent.

“Sedentary lifestyles, easy access to food and stressors like work pressure and economic instability contribute significantly to the problem, affecting both adults and children alike,” he said.

In the interview, Kevin also said while it was tempting to turn to food for temporary relief from stress, maintaining a healthy lifestyle involved carefully balancing time, exercise and stress management.

“Cultural practices like lepak are not inherently problematic, but the key lies in choosing companions wisely.

“Rushed, crash-course attempts often lead to unfulfilled expectations, fuelled by unrealistic portrayals on social media,” he added.

He also emphasised the importance of knowledge in adopting a sustainable lifestyle approach, steering away from short-term and stress-inducing methods.

The National Health Screening Initiative 2023 uncovered a troubling trend which was more than half (53.5 per cent) of Malaysians were overweight or obese, with 22.2 per cent classified as obese and 31.3 per cent as overweight.

Projections from the World Obesity Atlas painted a bleak picture, predicting annual increases in child (5.3 per cent) and adult (4.7 per cent) obesity rates from 2020 to 2035.