Freespace - Seconds, please

TAKING a break in Hanoi, a few things were fairly obvious to my tourist eyes. First, the roads are nice and smooth, with nary a pothole or uneven surface in sight. So smooth are the roads that the full moon reflects off the surface while young boys rollerblade along them. Second, neither English or Malay will get you far in Hanoi.
And finally, there is hardly an overweight person in sight. In fact, after hours, you would find plenty of people putting on their running shoes and running on the reflective streets on which the boys rollerblade. People throng the tennis courts, notwithstanding the sweltering heat.
It's not just men who are active. I was pleasantly surprised to see older women jogging. And that is just during the evenings.
I wonder what went wrong with Malaysia, the most obese country in the region. A friend noted that Hanoi was like Kuala Lumpur in the 1970s, pre-fast food, pre-American-sized portions. In the evenings, people would go for a walk. They would play badminton or sepak takraw.
"But actually," this same friend said, "Hanoi is better off because even in the 1970s, not that many people were as active as here." This is a good thing perhaps for Hanoi. It means in 40 years, they hopefully won't have generations of citizens with a propensity for diseases related to their metabolism. It also means that hopefully their medical industry won't be bogged down with people suffering from high blood pressure, cardiac-related diseases or high blood sugar (although their coffee is sweet, but very tasty).
So what went wrong? The same friend noted that when he went to study in the United States in the early 1980s, he first experienced seeing someone really fat. I never thought about this, but this is true. Malaysia in the 1970s and 1980s was not a fat country. Our athletes were thriving and the citizens were pretty fit.
Now? Not so much.
Let's look at the food. First, we eat a lot. It is fair to say that whenever we want food, if we live in the city, we would be able to find it. Second, the food is relatively affordable and therefore it is pretty easy to go for large portions or second portions.Third, the food we eat generally is laden with trans-fat, saturated fat and high glycemic carbohydrates.
This would not be so bad if we were an active nation, but we are not. We eat our roti canai while watching football, rather than after playing some football. We rather triple park in front of the food stalls than walk 50m to eat.
Also, have you ever noticed that our social events revolve around food? Birthday? Food. Wedding? Food. Anniversary? Food. All religious festivities? Food. Don't get me wrong, I love food! I love rendang, biryani, naan, nasi lemak, chocolates, cake, pizza, I love them all. But there is something about eating to live, rather than living to eat.
Have you noticed how your colleagues and you are discussing what you want to have for lunch at 10am just after you had your breakfast? I never really noticed that until someone (a Malaysian) pointed it out. We are always thinking of food, planning about meals and have all our social activities around food.
I admit, some of the active types aren't so bad. On Saturday mornings, they do their weekend warrior thing before they have their roti canai. They go for their run or their hike, while others might play football or futsal in the late evenings.
But they are in the minority. If we are serious about getting healthier, we either need to watch what we eat or be more active or both. Wouldn't it be sad if another columnist elsewhere writes about her first impressions of our country being how large Malaysians are?
Daniel freelances in writing and fitness training, and has a passion for sleep and travel. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com