KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is calling for a 30% reduction in added sugar content across manufactured food and beverages within the next five years and for the sugar tax to be expanded.<\/p>\n
MMA president Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said drastic measures were urgently needed as Malaysia now ranks 13th in the world\u2014and the highest in Southeast Asia\u2014for diabetes prevalence.<\/p>\n
He said efforts must include a gradual 20% to 30% reduction in added sugar content in manufactured foods and drinks over a three- to five-year period.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis target is achievable, aligned with global practice, and capable of significantly reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases,\u201d he said in a statement for World Diabetes Day on Friday (Nov 14).<\/p>\n
He added that the MMA also wants to see the expansion of the sugar tax, clearer front-of-pack nutrition labelling, and wider promotion of affordable, nutritious food options.<\/p>\n
Dr Thirunavukarasu said the situation had reached a critical point, citing recent data that placed Malaysia among the worst globally for diabetes prevalence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to The Star\u2019s report on Thursday (Nov 13), Malaysia now ranks 13th worldwide and highest in Southeast Asia, with 21% of Malaysians\u2014one in five adults\u2014living with diabetes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023 found that 15.6% of adults have diabetes, and more than half are overweight or obese.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is deeply worrying. Diabetes is no longer just a health issue. It is a national crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that bold and coordinated action involving the government, industry players, educators and the public was urgently needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis issue goes far beyond hospitals and clinics.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoorly controlled diabetes leads to complications such as kidney failure, heart disease, amputations, blindness and stroke\u2014many of which require costly, lifelong care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He noted that reports from the Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation showed that diabetes-related treatments accounted for RM4.38bil in direct healthcare costs in 2017 alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf prevention and lifestyle change are not prioritised, these costs will continue to rise, placing a growing burden on families, employers and the national health budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot afford for this trend to continue. Prevention is far more cost-effective than treatment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other recommendations by the MMA include promoting annual health screenings for adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly detection is key. Many live with diabetes unknowingly, missing opportunities for timely intervention.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking annual screening accessible, affordable and culturally normal\u2014starting from age 18\u2014can reduce complications and long-term costs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that public health education must also be strengthened in schools, workplaces and the media.<\/p>\n
\u201cMMA also supports the formation of inter-ministerial task forces or strategic partnerships between public health agencies and non-governmental organisations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some initiatives already exist, stronger alignment and measurable national targets are urgently needed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is calling for a 30% reduction in added sugar content across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,1835,786,137,8034,17200,785,119291,76323,85,6015,3853,163692,3854],"class_list":["post-283365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-diabetes","tag-fighting","tag-health","tag-health-ministry","tag-malaysian-medical-association","tag-mma","tag-moh","tag-national-health-and-morbidity-survey-2023","tag-sports","tag-sugar","tag-who","tag-world-diabetes-day","tag-world-health-organisation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}