Health chief's 2019 target: less fat, more growth in children

[webfact]

Health chief's 2019 target: less fat, more growth in children

By THE NATION

 

File photo

 

THE DEPARTMENT of Health has set new targets for 2019, following evidence that an increasing number of Thai children are reported to be overweight and too short for their age.

 

The department aims to boost the percentage of six to 14-year-olds with a healthy weight and height to 68 per cent in 2019, said Department of Health Director-General Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn. 

 

According to Panpimol, 10.6 per cent of under-fives are considered too short for their age while 9.1 per cent are overweight. 

 

Of six to 14-year-olds, 10.6 per cent are too short while 13.1 per cent struggle with obesity, she added. 

 

To achieve the target, the department will be promoting child growth and development through “the first 1,000 days of life”, said Department of Health deputy director-general Dr Amporn Benjaponpitak. 

 

The scheme aims to promote children’s development and well-being until their second birthday through better post-natal care, nutrition and proper parenting skills. 

 

Panpimol also added that the new target was part of the Public Health Ministry’s policy to promote healthier bodies and higher intelligence among children, she said. 

 

One of the Public Health Ministry’s targets included increasing the average IQ scores for Thai children to above 100 from 98.2 in 2016.

 

Public Health Minister Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, meanwhile, said that he had instructed the Department of Mental Health to join with the Department of Heath and select provinces with the highest numbers of low IQ, overweight and too-short children to conduct research for an IQ-boosting pilot project. If it is successful it could be expanded to cover other areas across the country. 

 

Piyasakol said that if the model area was successful in 2-3 years, it would be a turning point for the development of Thai children, whose average IQ score has been under 100 for the past decade.

 

Mental Health Department director-general Dr Kiatipumi Wongrajit aims to implement a so-called CPR (Creation, Positive, Response to Society) plan in Thai children and youth development. He said there were several factors that contributed to children’s low IQ scores and development that had not been solved, such as the issue of game addiction, which wasted away a large amount of time the kids should have spent on other development-boosting activities. 

 

He said his agency and the Department of Health would work together to boost child development among those aged 0-6. “If we don’t do anything about it, we don’t know what the future of Thailand in next two decades will be like,” he added.

 

Department of Mental Health deputy director-general Dr Pongkasem Khaimuk cited a 2018 report that there were 13,201 children aged 0-6 who were developing too slowly. Therefore, he said the department would increase the number of nurses specialising in child and adolescent mental health in all community hospitals while also creating a child development promotion network among tambon-level health promotion hospitals and apply the National Standard for Early Childhood Care. 

 

He also said that the average IQ score among Thai teens was 94.73, the average EQ score was around 70 per cent, while the pregnancy rate among girls aged 15-19 was at 39.6 per 1,000 population. 

 

He said the department would this year implement measures to boost the quality of student care and promote life skills in Thai teens.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30362382

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-01-17

[Chang_paarp]

59 minutes ago, webfact said:

THE DEPARTMENT of Health has set new targets for 2019, following evidence that an increasing number of Thai children are reported to be overweight and too short for their age.

I think they mean to say the the children are too short for their weight.

[mikebell]

So lots of Thai children are too fat; too short; too thick.  Prawit to the rescue - living proof that such children do have a future.

[PatOngo]

McDonald's.....I'm lovin' it!

 

[holy cow cm]

The answer is hormone injections. 

[ZeVonderBearz]

Sugar is a big culprit. Every thing that's consumed by locals must contain sugar. Just go into your local 7/11 and have a little loose around, sugar and processed food days and days.

[Lungstib]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Of six to 14-year-olds, 10.6 per cent are too short

That number would sound about right if they are discussing poverty being the answer for kids that are not growing as they should. We see them up here in the far north.

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

while 9.1 per cent are overweight. 

Which again sounds right if you look at the children in the local community, especially the urban areas. These numbers should be no surprise when you consider how little exercise kids get from the modern lifestyle of cars to school, phones for entertainment and moving stairs in malls. The elephant in the room here is modern eating habits, McD, Pizzas, K.F.C., and deep fried everything with sugar and fat, plus the power of advertising that no-one has attempted to curb. The money any govt has got to educate kids to eat correctly is well out weighed by the amount the big companies have to stuff them with rubbish. If education is the answer then a lot more is needed.

[RotBenz8888]

Gastric bypass surgery business will grow.

[overherebc]

Teach children to eat what they are given, not what they want at the Mall.

[robblok]

29 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

That number would sound about right if they are discussing poverty being the answer for kids that are not growing as they should. We see them up here in the far north.

 

Which again sounds right if you look at the children in the local community, especially the urban areas. These numbers should be no surprise when you consider how little exercise kids get from the modern lifestyle of cars to school, phones for entertainment and moving stairs in malls. The elephant in the room here is modern eating habits, McD, Pizzas, K.F.C., and deep fried everything with sugar and fat, plus the power of advertising that no-one has attempted to curb. The money any govt has got to educate kids to eat correctly is well out weighed by the amount the big companies have to stuff them with rubbish. If education is the answer then a lot more is needed.

I think the figures of retired farangs that are overweight is far higher. That does not mean its all about education. Its a lifestyle thing and really hard to change. Yes the McD, Pizza's KFC and all other stuff you mentioned does not help much.

 

When I was young (i am 44 now) there was not much fast food available unlike now its everywhere. Its quite hard to eat healthy one really has to put in an effort.

[JoePai]

4 minutes ago, robblok said:

I think the figures of retired farangs that are overweight is far higher. That does not mean its all about education. Its a lifestyle thing and really hard to change. Yes the McD, Pizza's KFC and all other stuff you mentioned does not help much.

 

When I was young (i am 44 now) there was not much fast food available unlike now its everywhere. Its quite hard to eat healthy one really has to put in an effort.

44 is young !

 

I'm jealous    

[robblok]

1 minute ago, JoePai said:

44 is young !

 

I'm jealous    

I know its not old, but I am talking about the time that i was 10-16 and the best we could do for fast food was go to a bakery shop and buy some cookies and or "drop" not sure how that translates.

 

Now things are different, also when I was 20 and studied in Amsterdam there was plenty of fast food around but now its even worse. 

 

The enviroment is just totally different now. I am trying to find some no sugar drinks in Thailand the best i can do is pepsi max (and yes i know those drinks are not the best but drinking water all the time bores me). There should be more healthy stuff available. Though now with Johnson salads a lot of salad is available. 

[Lupatria]

I wouldn't be surprised if Director-General Dr. Panpimol Wipulakorn would be found dead one day, runned over by a truck with a CP, McDonalds, or KFC logo on it.

[ryane66]

Ban the ladies selling soda pop and candies outside of all schools in Thailand 

[Nice Boyd]

2 hours ago, overherebc said:

Teach children to eat what they are given, not what they want at the Mall.

No, I have all

kinds of food issues, hate vegetables, now, force fed , doesn’t work

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, Chang_paarp said:

I think they mean to say the the children are too short for their weight.

 

[Chippy151]

4 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

Sugar is a big culprit. Every thing that's consumed by locals must contain sugar. Just go into your local 7/11 and have a little loose around, sugar and processed food days and days.

7/11 have a policy.

No healthy food or drinks.

[Orton Rd]

less kfc, coke and other western muck, Thai diet is far healthier

[Bill Miller]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

I know its not old, but I am talking about the time that i was 10-16 and the best we could do for fast food was go to a bakery shop and buy some cookies and or "drop" not sure how that translates.

 

Now things are different, also when I was 20 and studied in Amsterdam there was plenty of fast food around but now its even worse. 

 

The enviroment is just totally different now. I am trying to find some no sugar drinks in Thailand the best i can do is pepsi max (and yes i know those drinks are not the best but drinking water all the time bores me). There should be more healthy stuff available. Though now with Johnson salads a lot of salad is available. 

With obesity and Type II diabetes becoming epidemic, it frustrates the hell out of me that there are so few reduced or no sugar choices available. Same in the US, or at least it seemed so five years ago... diet cola was the only option in most restaurants.
On the Big Reservation (Navajo) Diabetes is a serious problem, yet very few options available to help. ????
I would love to be able to buy an occasional cold sugar free root beer or ginger ale here in Thailand. At least plain soda water is available in many places. 

[robblok]

Just now, Bill Miller said:

With obesity and Type II diabetes becoming epidemic, it frustrates the hell out of me that there are so few reduced or no sugar choices available. Same in the US, or at least it seemed so five years ago... diet cola was the only option in most restaurants.
On the Big Reservation (Navajo) Diabetes is a serious problem, yet very few options available to help. ????
I would love to be able to buy an occasional cold sugar free root beer or ginger ale here in Thailand. At least plain soda water is available in many places. 

In the Netherlands there were more sugar free drinks available. I am trying to make sure I don't drink sugary drinks but usually 1 time a day i take a drink with some sugar. 

 

The rest is soda, tea, or normal water or pepsi max. 

[Bill Miller]

98.2"One of the Public Health Ministry’s targets included increasing the average IQ scores for Thai children to above 100 from 98.2 in 2016."
OK, one problem here is that somebody does not understand IQ scores.
98.2 is not bad, for one thing. I don't know what standardized test they are using, but that might throw off the results if not developed particularly for Thais.
The other problem is that 100 is the mean, basically the average. Do they really think they can increase the average score to be above average? The average point of 100 is adjusted regularly so that it continues to reflect the average.
Thailand as Lake Woebegone; "Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average."
 

[bmore99]

Lack of sleep is also a factor. Tired children tend to move less and consume more carbohydrates.  

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, robblok said:

I think the figures of retired farangs that are overweight is far higher. That does not mean its all about education. Its a lifestyle thing and really hard to change. Yes the McD, Pizza's KFC and all other stuff you mentioned does not help much.

 

When I was young (i am 44 now) there was not much fast food available unlike now its everywhere. Its quite hard to eat healthy one really has to put in an effort.

The problem in Thailand is that the "healthy option" is covered in pesticides !!!

Yes I mean vegetables & fruit, I asked a Thai friend who will not touch them why?

He simply said it'll kill you faster than fast food... 

[robblok]

7 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

The problem in Thailand is that the "healthy option" is covered in pesticides !!!

Yes I mean vegetables & fruit, I asked a Thai friend who will not touch them why?

He simply said it'll kill you faster than fast food... 

Depends where you eat and if you make it yourself. I am slowly trying to get back to what i was doing before i got when sleeping problems got the better of me. (healthy eating and exercise).

 

I am lucky that I can cook and live in a house not condo. So i can prepare my own food, i just buy a lot of frozen vegetables that don't come from Thailand and steaming takes care of a lot of pesticides (if there are any at all). There is also a jones salad near me that uses clean salads. So its just a matter or taking charge yourself. But its not easy as bad food is everywhere and usually more tasty. 

 

If pizza was as healthy as vegetables id have pizza every day (if the calories were the same too)

[ChipButty]

The kids are becoming obese when you go in 7/11 early morning and the kids on their way to school buying pizza slices and other junk but also Thai's tend to love sweet things.

Times when I've ordered thai food and they have put sugar in it, then look at you like your stupid when you tell em about it,

Whats the worst Sugar or MSG?

[BobbyL]

You do see a lot of overweight Thai children nowadays. When I was teaching in England there may have been 10% or so of the children in my classes that were overweight.

 

I would say 30% or more of the children that are Thai in my class are overweight, especially the boys. 

[ChipButty]

3 minutes ago, BobbyL said:

You do see a lot of overweight Thai children nowadays. When I was teaching in England there may have been 10% or so of the children in my classes that were overweight.

 

I would say 30% or more of the children that are Thai in my class are overweight, especially the boys. 

How much sport do they do? like PT class and Football or games lessons 

[xtrnuno41]

If we don’t do anything about it, we don’t know what the future of Thailand in next two decades will be like,” he added.

 

Does it matter then? Now you have 2500 applications on 4 jobs(government).

so 2496 people educated and back to square one, almost no change for a future.

What about all those girls in Pattaya, you think they want it? Nope, it is for family and kids.

Thailand changes as well as the whole world changes in a bad way.

What was the suicide rate in Thailand among youngsters? High, dont know the exact number anymore, but it was high.

Yeah a smart screen inactivates the body, its everywhere. But what to do otherwise, there are rarely places to activate physical. How it was in old days then, guess helping out in family.

 

I saw at the university (students) in Songkhla, girls who were enormous fat, despite they have facilities to sport. I was amazed to see such big girls. Not just one but an amount which made me amazed. THey were almost my size , but double the size in weight and im already over weighted, but ok im 59. 

It was also sad, that a nephew of my wife, in school, when a question was asked what they wanted to be in future, replied, in classroom with all his classmates there, answered he wished he ll be dead then.

Is depression in Thailand and everywhere in the world then not an issue and the kids dont care, just smart screen and eat. Though the nephew isnt that fat, getting slimmer now he gets in puberty, yeah 14 years. WIshing he dies soon.       

[AtoZ]

No walking possible because soi dogs can rip your ass and no pathwalks so massive truck tuck you in graveyard.

 

All food, including fresh fruit juices loaded with sugar.

 

It won't get better, only worse.

 

 

[BobbyL]

15 hours ago, ChipButty said:

How much sport do they do? like PT class and Football or games lessons 

Two PE lessons a week plus swimming depending on the term. A fair few do the after school clubs like footy etc too. 

 

I reckon the food intake and diet is not good.