>SUBANG JAYA: One in four Malaysian adults may develop diabetes in their lifetime.This means that five million people are at risk of becoming victims of the silent killer that can lead to blindness, gangrene and kidney failure.
The disease often afflicts the overweight, who make up nearly 43.1 per cent of Malaysians.
Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity president Professor Dr Mohd Ismail Noor said most overweight people were diabetic.
"Some are getting diabetes at a younger age. People as young as 20 are getting it because they are overweight," he told the New Sunday Times after the launching of Nutrition Month Malaysia 2008 at the Sunway Pyramid shopping centre.
Dr Mohd Ismail said diabetes was not a "rich man's" disease anymore as there were diabetics among Felda settlers.
Earlier, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said almost half of the 13 million Malaysian adults were overweight.
"I believe this is due to a lack of health knowledge," he said when launching the event.
"For example, how many people know that losing even a modest five to 10 per cent of their weight can result in reduced sickness and death?"
Liow, a trained nutritionist, said development and affluence in society had altered lifestyles and influenced food choices.
"We have now become comfortable sitting at home and watching TV or the computer screen instead of enjoying the great outdoors," he said, adding that not even one out of five youths exercised regularly.
Liow said ignorance contributed to the alarming rate of hospitalisation among Malaysians.
Latest estimates show that there were seven admissions per 100 people nationwide in government and private hospitals.
He said an unhealthy lifestyle was taking a toll on the government healthcare budget which was increasing annually.
"If Malaysians take preventive measures and lead healthy lifestyles, we can keep these costs down."
