MALAYSIA has long had a complicated relationship with the concept of healthy eating, given that the national pastime is essentially deciding which mamak to go to and whether to upgrade to a large teh tarik.
The food is extraordinary, the portions are generous and the culture of eating together is one of the country's great pleasures.
But does all of that come at a price of Malaysians having one of the highest obesity rates in South-East Asia?
Verdict:
TRUE
Malaysia has the second-highest adult obesity rate in South-East Asia, behind only Brunei, and the highest among the region's larger economies, according to data from the World Obesity Federation and the Health Ministry's own national surveys.
The most recent figures from the Health Ministry's National Health and Morbidity Survey 2024 found that 23.1% of Malaysian adults are classified as obese, up from 21.8% in 2023, and that 53.6% are either overweight or obese combined.
Abdominal obesity, which carries particular risks for heart disease and diabetes, affects 52.1% of Malaysian adults, meaning more than half the adult population is carrying dangerous levels of weight around the middle.
Among children and adolescents aged five to 19, the picture is no better: 13.6% are obese and 14.4% are overweight, meaning more than one in four young Malaysians falls into one of those categories.
The World Obesity Federation's 2026 Atlas estimated that more than 2.85 million Malaysian children in that age group were overweight or obese in 2025, and projected that by 2040, an estimated 305,000 of them may show early signs of hypertension, while 382,000 could develop early cardiovascular disease.
For context, Brunei leads the region at 32.09% adult obesity, while Malaysia follows at 22.41% according to the World Obesity Federation, ahead of Thailand at 15.44% and Singapore at 13.97%, as reported by Sinar Daily.
Vietnam has the lowest obesity rate in South-East Asia at 1.7%, which suggests the gap between the region's heaviest and lightest nations is, by any measure, enormous.
The NHMS 2023, whose findings were published in Scientific Reports, noted that Malaysia's prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher than that of most other South-East Asian countries, and that the combined rate has risen by ten percentage points over the past decade, from 44.5% in 2011 to 54.4% in 2023.
A peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Public Health traced this trajectory back further, finding that Malaysia's adult obesity prevalence has more than doubled since 1990, driven primarily by rapid urbanisation, changes in diet and falling levels of physical activity.
The NHMS data makes the lifestyle picture clear.
Some 95.1% of Malaysian adults consume too little fruit and vegetables, and 84% are physically inactive in sports, leisure or fitness activities.
Six in ten Malaysian adults consume more than one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages a day, and two-thirds of adolescents exceed the recommended daily free sugar intake of 7.5 teaspoons.
Malaysia's car-centric urban design does not help matters, with many areas offering little incentive or infrastructure for walking, cycling or any movement that does not involve a steering wheel.
The Health Ministry has responded with a series of policy measures, including a sugar-sweetened beverage excise duty raised to 90 sen per litre in 2025 and the Healthier Choice Logo programme to steer consumers toward lower-sugar products.
Now for the BUT.
The obesity ranking depends somewhat on how you count and who you include.
When Brunei is factored in, Malaysia is second.
When only the larger Asean economies are compared, Malaysia comes out on top.
Either way, the picture is not flattering, and the trajectory is more concerning than the current ranking.
At the rate the numbers have been climbing since 2011, Malaysia is not approaching a ceiling — it is still very much on the way up.
Yes, our teh tarik might be delicious but perhaps don't drink it every day, and perhaps not tarik pekat.
Sources:
1. https://www.nature.com/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/
