Malaysian schools will be taking control of the ever worsening problem of obesity by adding comments about the weight of their students to the end of year report cards. The government has decided that along with grades, the school report will also comment on the weight of the student and state whether the student is at an ideal weight, overweight or obese. The health minister explains that the report cards will include the BMI of the student so that their diets can best be monitored by teachers and parents alike. Additionally, a ban has been placed on school cafeterias from supplying junk food and sugary drinks. The students will now have a range of healthy meals to choose from.
Malaysia is sixth in the list of Asian countries which rank most highly for obesity rates with 30% of the population overweight and another 30% obese. A massive 15% of the population over 30 years of age have been diagnosed with diabetes. As well as monitoring weight, the government will introduce awareness programmes focusing on healthy eating and the ‘Less Sugar Intake’ campaign of 2010 will continue throughout 2011.
Hopefully monitoring students in this way will help make parents more aware of the dangers associated with being overweight and place the responsibility back on them when it comes to the healthy diet of their children.
In 2009, 22% of men and 24% of women over the age of 16 years were reported as obese in the UK. These figures might be smaller if the problem of obesity is tackled in childhood. Weight assessment at school will put pressure on both children and parents and seems like a very good idea to me.