PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s path to adopting preventive healthcare is peppered with a lack of commitment or understanding, often at the expense of public welfare. Thus, the onus is on each individual to adopt a healthy lifestyle to avoid being at the mercy of non-communicable diseases (NCD), said former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye (pix).
He added that while the government has created various health-based programmes for the public, it is up to each person to educate himself to avoid potential NCD in the long term.
Common NCD include diabetes, cardiovascular disease such as stroke and cancer as well as chronic respiratory diseases.
“We need to have more (support) for preventive healthcare measures that include corporate entities. Some insurance companies have collaborations to raise awareness of the importance of health.
“Similarly, there is the Healthy Community Empowers the Nation programme that provides community awareness and knowledge on the prevention of NCD, based on easy daily practices that have a positive impact on one’s health,” he told theSun.
He said more funds should be allocated in the national budget to combat NCD, although he did not specify by how much.
The Health Ministry public health allocation in Budget 2022 increased by RM224.5 million to RM5.2 billion.
Health website Code Blue, quoting the Estimate Federal Expenditure 2022 document, said the allocation for health education and disease control under the ministry’s public health programme had increased by 26.6% and 11.6% respectively.
Dietitian Reshmy Ranee echoed Lee’s sentiment, saying at present, Malaysia’s healthcare system was still very much focused on curative rather than preventive care.
Health awareness programmes are usually carried out by individuals in the M40 and T20 groups and less by the B40.
“It’s a combination of mindsets and environment. For those in the B40 group, their job controls their lives, and if they don’t work a day, they don’t get paid.
“This leaves them very little time to care for their health,” she said, adding that there is a lack of support for groups with like-minded people who want to live healthily.
She proposed companies have a nutritionist on their payroll to create and teach fitness programmes to ensure that employees are educated about living healthy lifestyles.
“Non-governmental organisations must also come into play and (they) can invest in creating health awareness.
“Medical personnel can volunteer to check on those living in low-cost areas once a month and conduct financial literacy sessions on saving money and spending wisely on produce that is good for their families.”
She also said indications that Malaysians are prone to hypertension and obesity is concerning.
“The main culprits would be the food (they consume) and their lifestyle,” she said, adding that a Malaysian Community Salt Study found that of 1,047 participants aged between 18 and 59 in a community setting, the prevalence of hypertension was 49.4%.
“If an individual is between 18 and 39 years old and has a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or more, then it could be the young adult onset of hypertension.
“There is no current data on hypertension for people between 18 and 39 but as of 2015, 18.4% of people in that age group suffered from young adult onset of hypertension.
“Additionally, food and beverage manufacturers should create healthy products and include labels with a recommended serving size on food packages,” she added.
Pix for representational purpose only
