Putrajaya, Various ways done neighboring country Malaysia to fight obesity. Not enough to prohibit the sale of junk food in school canteens, the weight of the students in Malaysia are also included as one component of assessment in the report card.Breakthrough is done so that parents can come to assess the health condition of their child. Pupils who are not ideal weight will be given a rating based on Body Mass Index (BMI) is classified as underweight, overweight or even obese.
"With lists BMI report cards, parents are expected to have guidelines for assessing the condition of her child if her weight is normal or not," said Malaysian Health Minister, Liow Tiong Lai was quoted as saying by the Telegraph, Tuesday (04/19/2011).
Reportedly the teachers and parents strongly support these policies as it is considered would benefit all parties. Parents who know that their children are not normal body weight can be consulted to the clinic and together find a solution.
To support this policy, the prohibition to sell fast food (junk food) and beverages (soft drink) will also be strictly enforced in school canteens. Merchandise fat and high in sugar were categorized as unhealthy because it can lead to obesity.
Not just in the cafeteria, roadside merchant who sells fried food in the school environment are also not spared from penertiban.Pedagang-traders are not allowed to enter the school grounds and should only be selling fried after school hours ended.
Tiong Lai said the policy is taken to address the problem of obesity in the country. Recent data from WHO World Health Organization to place Malaysia as a country with the largest number of obese people in Southeast Asia and ranks 6th from all over Asia.
It is estimated, the total number of obese or overweight in Malaysia to reach one third of the population.