Wednesday 28 February 2007

Fast food? Nah, we got mamak!

With the recent hype of people talking about banning fast food commercials on television, one would think that this only happens in western countries because obesity rates are ever increasing. I guess it is always easy to blame food companies for supplying food saturated in pure fat and providing it to a market which loves it.


This goes the same for our own country, Malaysia. We notice that children nowadays (myself included) are gaining weight rapidly and becoming out of shape. As usual, we do what we do best and point fingers at the suppliers, fast food chains. Why? Because we think that burgers and fries are a lot unhealthier compared to our wonderful local food.

I want to know is that why are we comparing ourselves with these western countries and following them equally in terms with the so called ban on fast food advertisements? I guess it is easy to not brainwash our kids with fast food adverts but it totally defeats that purpose when we bring them to our own local style of fast food, yes I am talking about our local food and delicacies.

What is the use of staying away from burgers, fries and soft drinks when we feed our children with so called healthier food such as "nasi lemak" (rice fats - direct translation), "mee goreng" (fried noodles) and drink "teh tarik" (pulled tea) which contains 50% condensed milk. Wow, I feel so much healthier instead! At least McDonald's are beginning to take health a little more seriously and putting nutritional facts into their menus. I don't see many products in our super markets showing nutritional facts though.


As much as I love to eat, I really believe that the solution does not come by just banning advertisements but the an active drive to promote a healthier lifestyle. To be frank, this issue is never easy when we are just so used to our wonderful Malaysian food that staying away from it is far from easy. The key is discipline, eat within our means and not overeat. Indulging ourselves once in a while is ok but lets not make it a habit.


Well this coming from an overweight guy, I guess it is time to put my words into practice!

5 Comments:

Chuen said...

Chuen: yay! does that mean that you've decided to drink teh ais?? :)

Anonymous said...

hey i read somewhere that drinking cold water actually burns calories because your body has to regulate the temperature of the cold water to a "friendlier" temperature before your body is able to absorb it.. so if this is really the case, then teh ais would be a better option than teh tarik, don't you think? haha...

Mark said...

Chuen: Yes, I've stopped drinking teh ais on a regular basis already. Need to reduce those sugar levels.

We-Ki: I told you that fact dude! Haha something I read in a health magazine once.

Jolene said...

Cold water, eh? Really?! Maybe I should stop letting Caleb drink cold water then... :)

Mark said...

What is wrong with letting Caleb drink cold water? I am sure he likes it :P