Taking a walk to promote healthy living

STATISTICS show that the current health state of Malaysians is a cause for concern. The Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) conducted in 2006 by the Health Ministry showed that over 43% of the adult population were either overweight or obese, and the overall prevalence of physical inactivity stood at 43.7%.

A more alarming finding emerged from a major longitudinal survey of 47 urban and 41 rural primary school children conducted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Nestlé Products Sdn Bhd. The study revealed that the prevalence of overweight and obese children had risen from 20.7% in 2001/02 to 26.5% in 2007/08.