Looks like all the posts I've written about diet pills and weight loss pills and such may not be in vain. Some people may be able to use the products afterall.
There is an article in The Star today that indicates Malaysians consume 26 teaspoons of sugar every day, says CAP (Consumer Assocation of Penang).
And this is on a DAILY basis mind you, as revealed in a 2005 survey. That's not the end. Early this year, the country was ranked the world’s eighth highest sugar user.
Here's balance of the article:
In the 70s, Malaysians only consumed 17 teaspoons of sugar per person per day.
Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris said the consumption might have increased further by now, as the last research was done in 2005.
He said Malaysians consumed sugar in the form of, among others, soft drinks, condensed milk, flavoured drinks, junk food and even breakfast cereals. A CAP survey revealed that some drinks and food contained 10 teaspoons of sugar in one serving.
Idris said a brand of orange juice contained 40.8 teaspoons of sugar in a two-litre pack while a brand of cordial syrup had 200 teaspoons in a two-litre bottle.
He also said former Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad revealed earlier this year that Malaysia was the eighth highest sugar users in the world.
He said the International Diabetes Institute recorded Malaysia as having the fourth highest number of diabetics in Asia with 800,000 cases in 2007, which was expected to increase to 1.3 million in 2010.
“Sugar is linked to over 60 ailments such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.
“According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, 11.6 million of the 16 million adults nationwide are sick with a non-communicable disease like diabetes, hypertension or cancer.
“Malaysia has the most overweight and obese people in Asia with 54% of the adult population either being obese or overweight,” Idris told a press conference at CAP office yesterday.
“Thus, CAP calls on the Government to work with food manufacturers to avoid sugar in their products,” he added.
He also urged the Government to make it a requirement for manufacturers to graphically display the sugar content in their products by the number of teaspoons as well as colour labelling with red, orange and green indicating the sugar level as high, medium or low respectively.
“The Government should also stop advertisements of highly-sugared drinks and food during children’s television viewing hours, and educate schoolchildren and the public on the dangers of excessive sugar intake,” Idris said.
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Now I try to cutdown my sugar consumption. Always ask for low sugar or jangan manis sangat. Good for health.
ReplyDeleteThat's really quite alot of sugar intake.
ReplyDeleteI use little sugar for my daily Lipton teas and I like my milo unsweetened.
i just read this on the paper just now.. OMG, 26 teaspoonful of sugar a day!! ooops, and i just had a sugar ring donut, guess there's at least 1 teaspoonful~~ :p
ReplyDeleteI supposed the teh tarik in mamak stalls uses condensed milk instead of sugar. What are the other sources of sugar?
ReplyDeleteDonut? (Am reading SK's comments.) Fortunately, I hardly eat donut.
Yeah! I believe we do consume that much of sugar daily! =/
ReplyDeleteHow on earth do they manage to consume 26 teaspoons of sugar daily?
ReplyDeleteI think the most sugar I take daily is 1 teaspoon if I drink milo in the morning. If no milo no sugar.
I suppose natural sugar from apple is always good for you :o). That I won't count as another teaspoon.
Hey, Superman. Welcome back! That's a wise move, asking to reduce sugar. I find I always have to remind the teh tarik man at the mamak stall to do that. They are far too generous with the condensed milk. Eh?
ReplyDeleteMei Teng, I suppose the 26 teaspoons take into account all the food and drinks we take in a day starting from breakfast right up to supper.
SK, are you kidding?! That doughnut would have at least one tablespoon of sugar! hahah...
ReplyDeleteWhat else did you take today? Teh tarik? And.....? I guess you'll have to hit the gym more. LOL!
KS, condensed milk is sugar. Lots of food also contain sugar. All pastries and cakes contain sugar. All our local kuehs too. Some Chinese dishes as well - sweet and sour pork? And then we wash down the food with sweet drinks such as herbal tea or worse, cola drinks.
Tekkaus, bad, hor? Tsk tsk..
ReplyDeleteAi Shiang, everything combined makes 26 teaspoons of sugar daily. Gosh, we ought to be terribly sweet.
Natural or complex sugar is good on the other hand.
I hate mamak stall style teh tarik. Overly sweet and I dislike the smell of condensed milk.
ReplyDeleteI always order teh panas kurang manis which sometimes gets messed up too and becomes too sweet.
I agree they need to take it easy on the condensed milk. You don't like the smell of condensed milk?
ReplyDeleteDo you then take your teh panas without the condensed milk but with evaporated milk and sugar? That's nice too.