Obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country have reached a worrying level and are on the rise, the Dewan Negara was told today.

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said the Health and Morbidity Survey conducted by the ministry found that one out of two Malaysians were overweight or obese.

“The survey also found 17.5 percent suffered from diabetes, 30.3 percent had hypertension and 47.7 percent had high cholesterol levels,” he said when replying to a question from Senator Lee Tian Sing on the obesity problem in the country.

Dzulkefly said the main factors for obesity were unbalanced nutrition, not burning enough calories daily, mothers' nutrition intake during pregnancy, breastfeeding practices and children’s dietary habits which were influenced by the parents and peers.

“The strategy to tackle obesity has already been started comprehensively, as early as infancy and on to childhood and adulthood,” he said.

He added that it included the National Strategic Plan for NCDs (2016-2015), National Nutrition Action Plan (2016-2025) and the National Strategic Plan on Physical Activities (2016-2025).

-- Bernama