Healthy plate portioning approach to tackling obesity

Tunku Mu’tamir observing children preparing dishes in the Malaysia Healthy Plate challenge.

IF the Health Ministry had its way, all Malaysians would be practising plate portioning using the Suku-Suku Separuh (3S) method, which offers an easy way to portion out the types of food our body needs.

For a balanced meal, one quarter of the plate should comprise protein which can be found in fish, beans, meat, poultry and eggs.

The other quarter, for complex carbohydrates, can be made up of rice, noodle, bread, cereals, wholegrain products, in a fist-sized portion, while the remaining half of the plate should be made up of vegetables and fruits, in palm-sized portion.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Tackling Obesity in Asean Report, Malaysia’s prevalence of obesity is at 13.3%, which is the highest in South-East Asia.

Malaysia was among the top three countries in Asia with high percentage 11.5% of obese children, aged between six months and 12 years.

Ayam Brand is taking on the big issue of obesity among Malaysian children by incorporating the 3S concept of the Malaysian Healthy Plate into its annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. This year, the brand expanded the CSR programme to children from primary schools as well.

The theme for this year’s campaign was “Ayam Brand Community Care Campaign 2019, Get Healthy Malaysia, Start Now”. It empowered children from 10 states with information to identify healthier food choices and equip them with skills to prepare their own Malaysian Healthy Plate meal. The programme was open to children from eight years up.

According to Ayam Brand chairman Tunku Datuk Mu’tamir Tunku Mohamed, the CSR campaign which is now in its 12th year has contributed 1.76 million healthy meals for charity, providing nutritious food to more than 20,000 people from 482 charity homes and non-governmental organisations.

This year’s campaign aided and educated 42 charity homes and 25 schools nationwide over a three month period, with an estimated 1,800 recipients who were offered 324,000 Ayam Brand meals.

Ayam Brand held its campaign finale at KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist in Selangor. At the event, hospital dietician Nur Hayati Azmi shared with the participants tips on living and eating healthily.

“Adhering to the adage that prevention is better than cure, we are committed to reaching out to the community and sharing vital health knowledge. We appreciate the partnership as we see the campaign by Ayam Brand is reaching out to the nation and the brand has done it successfully for many years, ” said the hospital’s medical director Datuk Dr Abdul Wahab Abdul Ghani.