[Arkadiyas]

If it were something inherent in Thai food, though, wouldn't they have always been fat rather than getting fatter now?

Convenience food, convenience transportaion, ... no need to get up to do anything, if you don't want to. This behavior has killed so many Americans, with so many of us on the path....and now it's going global.

[Wr8dIAUk]

I don't know about you guys, but I think in Thailand the weather is not suitable for walking or riding a bike for about 8 or 9 months a year I would definitely not want to walk with the rain pouring down, or with 40 degrees beating down on me. I can easily understand middle-class Thais got hooked on aircon, cars, avoiding outdoor activities, and convenience lifestyle.

[Hervams]

Certainly a Whopper from BK is not 410 calories!

DogoDon

Yeah, an American Whopper is 670 calories. Not sure if the Thai Whopper is the same. But usually the Whopper is part of a combo meal which includes fries and drink. So I used the BK calculator to add small fries and a medium coke (not diet of course) and the calorie count came out to be exactly 1100 calories, 460 of which are from fat, 95 mg cholesterol.

Betti is right about the lack of awareness when it comes to diet. It seems none of my Thai friends understand that eggs are high in cholesterol or that eating large chunks of pork fat is not good for them. You should see the hard time they give me when I order diet Coke. When looking at my photos of Thai people smiling compared to my American counterparts you notice one thing immediately. Thai people don't like to show their teeth. When they do, their teeth are pretty yellow compared to mine.

[monologue]

However many Dunkin Donuts and Mcdonald's there are, i don't think most Thais eat in them regularly - you can buy street food three times over for the cost of a Big Mac Meal.
I eat Mcdonald's about once a month, probably more than most Thais, and I'm not a fat b*****d.

[Baromaro]

it's a change of lifestyle, having a little more money to spend, but no awareness on the other hand.

Thats why obesity is called a wellfare disease.

And its really no surprise its been an increasing problem the last 20 years in Thailand.

Im quite happy coke is banned at my sons school Altho he is not happy and will compensate during weekends Im told.

[Baromaro]

So true and there is also nowhere to walk. I mean pavements are quite rare and sharing space with motorbikes and cars is quite scary

[Wr8dIAUk]

haha! would be nice to have buses in Chiang Mai. I mean regular buses on regular routes, not just stray buses circling the city three times before heading in a particular direction.

[JennyStewarta]

I see some fat folks everytime I go to the market in the evenings and see them riding their Mo'cys down the village street and buying stuff for supper.

That combination of increased calorie intake with reduced exercise isn't very helpful. If Thais would follow affluent Westerners* and walk more and ride bicycles more, their health would improve. If they did it a LOT more and air pollution decreased significantly, their health would improve even more.

* I'm presuming the rest of the Western world is like Australia in that it is the relatively wealthy who walk and ride bicycles the most.

[Retapleapse]

Here in the U.S., we get a new theory every few months. Is the problem in the food itself -- are there bad foods? Is the problem in the quantity consumed -- our willpower, or restaurants forcing huge plates on us? Is the problem lack of information to make good choices, or the fact that the advice keeps changing? Yeah, we need more exercise, but I have to finish reading the Internet first and then the game is on.

We need simple rules everyone can understand that will hold up over time. We need sustainable choices that nourish us, don't make us sick, and don't poison the environment -- which also are affordable. And we need to find a way back to eating for joy, not fearing our food. Anyone have the answer? (Do you believe anyone who says they do??)

Many people have said that our "eat on the run", "eat at your desk", "eat with your nose in a book" lifestyles are the problem. Eating with family, friends, or co-workers slows you down and contributes additional dimensions of pleasure to the experience. We feel full after eating less; perhaps we need less from our food. This isn't always practical, but it's worth a try.

[JennyStewarta]

No I don't think so, my wife has a daughter and she had a new bicycle and she didn't ride it, .

Here's a picture from when I was in Taipei last year. Taipei is on a similar scale to Bangkok and also has shocking pollution but people do ride bikes in big numbers. Despite their love affair with motorbikes, cycling is still a big part of the culture there. The $64K question is how you go about building a cycling culture in Thailand.

I remain convinced that getting schoolkids off motorbikes would make Thailand safer, even if it didn't get them walking and riding bikes. If it did get them exercising, then the benefits would be even greater.

[Wr8dIAUk]

Taipei is much smaller and I would say more liveable than Bangkok!

I think bicycles are dangerous because they are slower than the general flow of the traffic. with the very minimal gap between cars that drivers and riders are keeping here in Thailand, I think it is very dangerous to go at a different speed than everybody else. I would say more dangerous than motorcycle.

[JennyStewarta]

Taipei is much smaller and I would say more liveable than Bangkok!

I think bicycles are dangerous because they are slower than the general flow of the traffic. with the very minimal gap between cars that drivers and riders are keeping here in Thailand, I think it is very dangerous to go at a different speed than everybody else. I would say more dangerous than motorcycle.

Yes, on busier roads bicycles have to be separated from motor vehicles to be safe. That's what makes Dutch cities cycling heaven (along with the lack of hills : ) ). However, there is a safety in numbers effect for bicycles regardless of whether there is lane separation or not. Taipei seems to have enough bikes on the roads to produce it. Chiang Mai doesn't. I'm not sure I have ever even seen a bicycle in Bangkok - well maybe once or twice, that's all.

[gundos]

I was surprised to read that 18% of Thais are fat/obese..when I was there on two occassions, I haven`t seen or haven not noticed many, or not one fat Thai. ..I did notice that Bkk. Thais do go to restaurants to eat quite often, practicaly every day, as I was invited to go with my friends there to dinners many, many times.Here in U.S. I don`t know what is weekly average dineout for a couple,...but I am sure it`s not nearly as high as in Thailand....But eating out in restaurants in itself does not have to be reason for gaining weight...it depends more on what food you eat and how much of it. Though I never go out to restaurants here in Chicago, because I cook my own foods, I still struggle with weight, as do 65% of Americans, because foods that I cook for myself are overly delicious and CALORIC. And as one friend told me, for a person who is too bussy with their work, it would cost them more to prepare their own food at home than to go-or order from-a restaurant.

[Vobomei]

Seriously, Mike, the numbers cited in that article appear suspicious to me.

But there can be no doubt Thailand's waistlines have grown in the last couple of decades. I remember noting on my first trip in 1987 that there were virtually no fat people. Today it is dramatically different.

I want to apologize to the people of Thailand, on behalf of the fast-food-pandering West, for exporting our "culture" to your country. It's sad, indeed.

DogoDon

[Borzopayn]

Thailand fattens up


We eat out at least 13 times a week, the highest rate in Southeast Asia, and it shows on the waistline.

According to a survey by the Kasikorn Research Centre, Thais on average spend 927 baht ($28) to eat out 13 times a week, which may go some way towards explaining why 18 per cent of the population are supposedly obese.

Health advocates, who gathered in Bangkok for a meeting (and dinners) that began Wednesday, claimed that 12 million Thais suffer from obesity, and risk dangerous health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and strokes, the main causes of death in the country.

Between 1986 to 2004 the kingdom has seen the number of overweight people increase 7.5 times, with the growing waistlines blamed on changing lifestyles and eating habits, such as a fondness for foreign fast foods that matches the demand for the local variety, said Dr Saming Kaocharoen, a health advocate.

There are currently more than 1,000 outlets operating in Thailand, with many more under construction.

According to research conducted by Dr Khanat Kruthkul, a specialist in cardiology, a plate of fried chicken, french fries and a soft drink contains 1,025 calories while a cheeseburger contains 410 calories.

But Thai street food is equally to blame for the rising calorie intake.

Thai fast foods, popular at the country's ubiquitous street stall, are equally calorie-loaded. A plate of kway teow pad phai, Thai style fried noodles, contains 700 calories. Somtam (papaya salad), sticky rice and grilled chicken, another Thai favourite, contains 760 calories, according to Khanat's fast food chart.

He advises men to keep their intake down to 2,000 calories a day, and women should stay below 1,500. (dpa)

Bangkok Post

[MaigicyuNinia]

I'm happy I don't have this fat problem.

[kranskregyan]

Somtam, khao nieow and kai yaang has almost twice as many calories as a cheeseburger ?! I always thought that was a healthy option!