The poverty of wealthy Thai children
During my winter stay in Hua Hin, we regularly visited the Market Village on Phetkasem Road. It is a luxury shopping mall with shops and restaurants that focus on the wealthy ภาษาไทย, tourists and expats.
Restaurant
We usually stopped at Tesco Foodcourt to eat cheap and tasty there. Because my girlfriend especially likes Sushi, we occasionally went to eat at a Japanese restaurant on the second floor.
For about 300 baht per person you can eat and drink as much as you want for an hour and a half. Still dirt cheap for a Farang, but for a lot ภาษาไทย is it a daily wage, so much too expensive. These modern 'growth barns' are popular with the somewhat wealthier ภาษาไทย, often originating in Bangkok. Many 'upper class' Thais from the Thai capital go to Hua Hin during the weekend. Some have a second home there. A visit to a restaurant is of course part of it.
Fat Thai children
We have been there twice and usually the Sushi restaurant was 90% filled with Thai families. What immediately struck me was the over-representation of fat Thai children. And not a little overweight, but even morbidly obese. Going to such an 'eat as much as you can' restaurant with overweight children does not seem wise to me. I therefore wonder whether these parents understand what they are doing. Especially when you consider that obesity in children is in Thailand becoming a significant problem.
In the Netherlands, a couple was recently deprived of parental authority because the children were much too heavy. The judge found this tantamount to child abuse. Such overweight poses a threat to the health of the child, which usually also ends up in social isolation as a result (Supervised overweight children – NOS).
Luxury items
The children of wealthy Thais are probably kept busy with luxury items such as an iPad, laptop, smartphone, game console and DVD player. These children then have to enjoy themselves in their air-conditioned bedroom, while Dad is busy with his career and Ma with shopping. Playing outside in the Bangkok concrete jungle will probably not be an option. When my son needs to move, it will be by car or taxi. After all, a HiSo Thai does not cycle or walk on the street.
Village children
How different it is in my friend's village in Isaan. I have not seen any fat children. The youngsters are running, climbing, playing football, cycling and playing all day long. Boyfriends and girlfriends. In this way they learn to acquire social skills in a playful way and correct each other. In addition, the villagers keep an eye on things. These kids look slim, healthy and happy. I see many smiling faces. However, they have never eaten unlimited Sushi, do not have a game console and a DVD player with a flat screen in the bedroom. In fact, they don't even have their own bedroom.
But who will be happier? The corpulent HiSo child who plays alone with the latest iPad and a bag of chips next to him or the poverty-stricken children in the Isan village?
I have also noticed when I go to the city and especially Bangkok how many fat Thai people in general I find there compared to the poor countryside. I have had to hear several times from less educated Thais that people with money must be fat. In Isaan I sometimes see fat ladies, but usually they are married to one Westerner or another. I don't think things will improve, on the contrary, or the current education system should be completely changed to a more appropriate education system, but then we end up in another discussion.
@Siamese,
When the education system is completely restructured, we will also have ended up in a different century.
Or if I had to live to be an old man, who knows if I would live to see it, it would certainly be good for me in my old age to be able to see such a Thailand, but as you yourself indicate, it might It will take even longer, keep our fingers crossed, I say.
Moderator: comment not posted. The article is about fat children, your comment has nothing to do with that.
I also live in a small village in Isaan and see [and enjoy] the Thai kids playing together. Our 6-year-old son also has his own TV and DVD in his room, but fortunately he plays outside with his friends. Only when it rains he sometimes takes a few with him and they watch a cartoon, but the best part is a piece of field with a net of bamboo sticks where they are passionately playing volleyball or foot volleyball, and then I think they are very poor, but I think they are happier than many people here, and I hope it stays that way.
Last Tuesday I was at CentralWorld in Udon Thani around 13.00 pm and there on the 4th floor you will find almost only Japanese and Korean restaurants. I noticed that so many fat schoolchildren were eating. And that for a price of about 300 bath per person.
Also in my village (Isan) there are fat children and men around 30 with bellies like a beer-drinking falang over 60.
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Have also seen changes in recent years regarding pumpkin children. But I also see that the parents don't pay attention, those young can now grab candy and other sweets from the refrigerator, nothing is said about it. My wife said that she used to get a bag of rice with maggi to school if she was lucky. Now they get a few baths and use them at the many fast food stalls near the school. But the school doesn't do anything about it either, so in a few years it will be a problem with those fatties of now and later in terms of health
Live in a small village in the north of Thailand. My impression is that in general the
population of Thailand, just like in NL, are starting to get fatter. What is the reason?
In my village, in short, 6 > 2 eleven shops have been added
This is probably a branch of the Oishi group. They have more than 100 Japanese restaurants in Thailand. Recently also in the Shopping Arcade on Second Road above Mac D. in Pattaya.
Nowadays, if you believe the media, almost everything you eat is unhealthy.
And it is precisely this Japanese food that seems to me to be a pleasant exception.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised.
If I had kids, I'd rather hear them yell "Oishi" than "Mac D.!"
In this case, I think the choice of the parents for an 'eat as much as you can' restaurant is justifiable. Introduce them to the countless delicacies with lots of fish and vegetables that don't necessarily drown in fat and sauce.
Incidentally, I think every Thai eats as much as he or she wants all day long, so choosing a restaurant for that one time where they serve small portions doesn't really seem like a good idea either.
Finally: It's not so much about what you eat too much, but what you exercise too little. Unfortunately, I have little right to speak about this… 🙁
I too have seen the average waist size in Thailand increase by about 30 centimeters in the past 5 years. Fast food, soft drinks, sweets and lack of discipline are the main culprits in my opinion. Thais used to eat extremely healthy, with lots of fruit and vegetables.
In relatively poor countries it is still the case that thickness indicates prosperity and is therefore highly regarded. I worked in Pakistan for a year and the connection there was even more straightforward. Thailand also compares favorably with India. Fat means rich or vice versa and thin means poor. A fortunate coincidence is that the Thai man likes a sturdy woman.
In the West and the USA it is now reversed. There, obesity mainly occurs in the lower echelons. That will eventually be the case here in Thailand, but it may take a while.
Your nicely written story is true. Obesity is becoming an immense problem. But also in the countryside. Indeed, there are still many children there who play, cycle and play football. And yet, some people also eat packets of chips here. And at the BBQ restaurants, sometimes with inferior meat, they eat to death for about 2 euros.
Thailand will have a huge problem in 10 years.
Regards,
Tony
Unfortunately, you see many fat children in most countries with American influence on eating habits, not just in Thailand. America itself takes the cake and exports its bad habits, which almost no one can deal with well for whatever reason.
After reading the responses here I wonder where Thai children can still play outside in Bangkok, something I've never seen outside of the parks. Where else can they play in Bangkok as described for the countryside?
I am glad that - based on the reactions - it is generally recognized that becoming fat at an increasingly younger age has now - after 1. North America and 2. Europe - also become a problem in Thailand (and even in developing countries). Thai children may not drink beer like the farang do, but sugar - especially the sugar hidden in cola and other soft drinks - and the addiction to it is the forefront of becoming addicted to alcohol, especially beer. Sugar and alcohol are carbohydrates. I would like to mention here (for those who may care) that these are high-glycemic carbohydrates, the - in short - the most unhealthy carbohydrates. Both addictions (to sugar and alcohol) work according to the same mechanism, in which the secretion of insulin plays a leading role. A substance is also added to beer that makes you thirsty. But if I dare say something along the lines of: “the fat-bellied farang should stop drinking beer,” I'll have almost the entire readership of this blog come over me; well, let me say: “the youth - those of Thailand or anywhere else - should stop drinking cola and any bottled or canned snack liquid”. Buttermilk - not seen anywhere in Thailand - as a drink with the wheat bread sandwich (without butter but with tomato, for example) would be best.
Fats, especially fish fats, are not the biggest culprits. These are the wrong carbohydrates and the wrong ones are therefore white bread and white rice, not Asian glutinous rice, which, unlike white rice, is not exactly over-represented in the large retail chains. Naturally, what is easily available plays a major role.
There is a large distribution and manufacturing industry. The big companies are focused on making as much profit as possible and not on maintaining public health.
Moreover, there is far too little general knowledge regarding nutrition and the dissemination of that knowledge has still not started. In fact, that knowledge still shows far too much gap (although in recent years more scientists have focused on this subject - nutrition). A doctor who discharges a thrombosis patient from the hospital - he has suppressed the thrombosis with pills - still does not tell such a patient that he should put unsaturated fatty acids (i.e. fatty fish in preferably unsaturated oil such as olive oil) on his menu. . He even does that - to my knowledge - if the patient is clearly too fat. Being fat is a disease symptom that indicates an incorrect diet and being fat is a harbinger of the outbreak of a thrombosis, or of diabetes, and more.
To return to the subject of 'overweight children', so-called adult-onset diabetes has already been observed in children. In the past, when overweight children were an exception, children did not get this disease, hence the name.
To keep it simple, all natural products, eg brown rice, brown bread, vegetables and fruits, etc. are natural and healthy. Everything that is made from carbohydrates in the factory, e.g. white rice, white bread, white sugar, alcohol is high glycemic, not natural and therefore unhealthy. It doesn't fill, sugar levels go up and down too quickly and the feeling of hunger returns quickly. That can be addictive.
Low-glycemic carbohydrates are more filling and further delay the feeling of hunger because the glucose level remains at a normal level for longer.
Erik white rice is a natural product. In addition to white rice, you can also find brown, black and red rice in Thailand. These are just as natural as white rice, but each is a different type. Bananas can also be found in white, red, green (ripe) and many other colors. Unlike rice, bananas vary in size from pinky-sized to up to half a kilo each. In KhonKean you can find these on the university grounds, just like the many colors of rice.
White rice is rice that has been “milled out,” just as white bread is “milled out” bread, so that the rice and bread are largely stripped of everything except the carbohydrate. Not “natural” and not good, as can be read in comments other than just mine. Bananas are also high-glycemic, although they are a natural product. And I suppose the same about durian.
Another fact about not listening to doctors: asked a doctor for dietary advice, he said (summarizing): it is that you ask for it of your own accord, otherwise I will no longer provide dietary advice, people will not follow it anyway. What people eat is determined by social factors. Tell me who you hang out with - other fat kids or other fat expats, as the case may be - and I'll know what you eat and drink. And that is virtually unchangeable.
Brown rice is the product that nature gives us, is low glycemic and healthy. After treatment in the factory where the membranes are removed, it becomes white rice, a high-glycemic food that is no longer a natural product.
I have a large Thai family who, as they grow older, are all now forced to live on brown rice, which they used to think was prison food. White rice, sugars and beer are killers for the old age and not just in Thailand.
Unfortunately I only know of 1 restaurant in Thailand where brown rice is on the menu. For years I ate with a bowl of brown rice in restaurants that I brought myself. They just needed to warm it up but thought I was crazy. I then had the reverse of diabetes (hypoglycaemia), a too low glucose level in my blood in response to high glycemic food and went on white rice an hour after eating a kind of out in a near coma. Since then I eat as much natural food as possible and small amounts of white rice after things have come into reasonable balance.
Natural food is also a great way to get and stay at your healthy natural weight.
Willem, if you want to buy buttermilk in Thailand you can go to Foodland. One branch in Pattaya and I believe six in Bangkok. (Brand: Gourmet) Just Google it. It is on my table every day together with the whole wheat bread and a piece of oily fish fried in olive oil. The fact that I am nevertheless not a slender person is due to the habit of pouring the joy of a beer (or something) after work has been done. By the way, the buttermilk here is linked to the gold price, I think. Bottle 0,7 L., 69 Baht. Converted, a liter costs almost 100 Baht = 2,50 Euro. In the Netherlands I pay E 0,51 = 21 Baht for a liter. Success with it.
Thank you very much for your information regarding the availability of karnemetlk. Now I don't live in Pattaya (anymore) and certainly not in Bangkok -I live on Koh Chang- but “Foodland” and “Gourmet” I will look for.
Not only in Thailand do I see this happening. I also regularly visit Brazil… the same there: in the last 20 years people have become fatter.
In Thailand it might be more noticeable, because most Asians are slim.
Difficult to handle as a parent. The friends go to the Mac or Kfc and so the children want too. Computer, TV and other sitting games ensure that these young people move less.
It is a phenomenon that is happening everywhere.
It starts with most private schools; various snacks and sweets are eaten here.
Blame the top commercial school owners who make a lot of money from it.
There is work to be done for the Thai government, but well………just fill it in
Interesting detail and although somewhat deviating from the subject, but in line with that you often see youth in the countryside playing outside barefoot.
They just as easily clamber into trees, run and jump in the yard that is covered with gravel or whatever, in short, no surface hurts their feet. Everyone has seen it at some point.
Going barefoot may not have so much to do with the health aspect and in any case cannot be called a bad habit, but that also characterizes the difference with the urban youth who do not or hardly play outside and their feet are pampered as such as soon as one can walk that through the wearing footwear they cannot do without as we do in the western world.
The fact that they cannot do without shoes will not matter to the city youth or rather their wealthy parents because - just like with us in earlier years - it has more or less become a form of status or walking barefoot is seen as a sign of poverty and a lesser quality of life. civilization found.
I still wonder where children in Bangkok could play outside without shoes, that is not possible anywhere… at least not where I live in a good neighborhood in the heart of the city…
I wonder that too Erik, but it remains beyond dispute that even if they could play outside without footwear their feet are simply not taught and are not used to it because of the urban upbringing they have enjoyed in contrast to the countryside .
That is the idea behind what it wants to say.
It's about playing outside, with or without shoes. That is not possible anywhere in Bangkok and certainly not with bare feet on piping hot asphalt. In my opinion, the problem of overweight children has become insoluble unless parents could make more of an effort to promote their well-being. The same also applies to America, where children no longer play outside in the city. And not outside the big city anymore because the neighbors don't want your children playing in front of their door. I realize that I have actually never seen children playing outside in Bangkok... but begging at night...
Gentlemen, may I point out that rich children live in a residential area with lots of grass, playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts, swimming pools, fitness, football cages and of course their own lawn around the house.
They also have slippers from the most expensive brands as well as computers and telephones.
We say easy, go play outside, but in the sun there is little fun if you start moving actively. It's just too hot. It is also wonderful in the swimming pool.
A good story about a problem, of which you can only suspect that it will get worse and worse. It is a welfare problem that cannot be solved just like that. Many other countries preceded Thailand and there is no real solution available there either. The reactions already point to this and I also agree with the general tendency, which says that children should exercise more and eat less and better food. As a government you can stimulate this somewhat by providing good information, more sports at school, etc., but it is still up to each individual (parent and/or child) to recognize the problem and to take the necessary measures.
What bothers me is that hobby horses are ridden in some reactions, you should not do this, you should not eat or drink that, you should eat this and leave that alone. I do not agree with that.
Each human body has a unique digestive and metabolic system. Through this system, food is used to live, grow and stay in good condition. But unfortunately that system does not work the same way for everyone. I know people who don't drink coffee in the evening because they can't sleep; I know people who have to eat gluten-free: I know people who get sick from eating shellfish; I know people who get a rash from eating pork; I know people who are lactose sensitive. Erik then tells his story about hypoglycaemia and there are countless other examples of foods that some people cannot tolerate and can become seriously ill. However, I know many more people who can eat and drink anything without causing any problems.
What I am advocating is that we should guard against a general fear of certain foods and thus talk others into illness. In a reaction, quite an emphasis is placed on carbohydrates, which are high in glycemic content and therefore (?) would be dangerous to health. An absurd statement, because “wrong” carbohydrates do not exist. A can of cola addictive and the harbinger of a beer-drinking booze organ? Do not let me laugh.
For centuries, we Dutch have been consuming high-glycemic carbohydrates, think of white bread, think of potatoes, think of some types of vegetables. The same applies to white rice, which is eaten by millions, no, billions of people on earth without any problems. The trick is to use a diet in such a way that high-glycemic carbohydrates are compensated with low-glycemic carbohydrates, so that the metabolic system remains in balance. Older fellow bloggers remember that their parents always provided a varied diet. People had not studied for it, but they just knew which combinations of potatoes, vegetables, meat and then dessert were best. The same applied to bread meals. Do you remember the Wheel of Five? Nowadays you can easily find on several websites which foods go well together.
I certainly do not underestimate the possibilities of disorders in the body due to certain foods, but it is also not the case that "everyone" should eat brown rice, wholemeal bread (with tomato) and drink buttermilk and also renounce cola and beer.
If you are healthy, in good shape and also have a varied eating and drinking pattern, it is not a problem at all to let yourself go in a McDonalds once in a while or to go crazy once in a while with some friends in a beer bar. Perhaps I myself am the best example of this (ha ha, said the avid cigar smoker!)
Your response is certainly appreciated and I don't want to dismiss it just like that. Fear is, of course, a bad advisor. On the other hand, I submit, ignoring warnings can end badly.
You state that the danger of high-glycemic carbohydrates is an absurd statement. You apparently mean that the danger in question - that of the high-glycemic carbohydrates - would not rhyme with established facts and that that danger therefore does not exist.
But incongruous, simply untrue, is precisely your statement (on which you rely) that “we Dutch people have been eating high-glycemic carbohydrates for centuries: white bread, white rice, potatoes, some vegetables”.
To begin with, as far as I know, only cooked carrots and idem beets are high-glycemic and the other vegetables are markedly low-glycemic. A varied menu, for which you rightly advocate, will therefore not be the problem as far as vegetables are concerned (just as that also applies to fruit, although there are two exceptions to my knowledge: the banana and - unknown in the Netherlands - the durian are high-glycemic ).
You are really historically incorrect with your assumption that white bread and white rice have been part of our diet for centuries. The rise of white bread only started after the invention of the grinding cylinder in 1875. Modern industry, which has not existed for centuries and centuries, has pumped sugary drinks (such as cola) into our diet and ground white bread and ditto white rice . The potato, also not a particularly low-glycemic food, was brought by sailors from the New World in 1540, but it was not immediately popular, that was only at the beginning of the 19th century, not entirely apart from the famine at the time. Maize, originally (also) a fodder, was not brought to Europe for the first time by the American liberation army until 1944 (and the Americans themselves only ate it since 1929, the disaster year there, which was ravaged by drought and thus food shortages.
Pasta, pastas, are nowadays made from refined (another word for “ground”) flour. “Ground” or “refined” (also incorrectly called “refined”) means that all the nutrients have been largely removed, except for the glucose. Roughly speaking: none from wholemeal bread, half from brown bread and 90% or more from white bread.
Sugar, if you believe it to have existed in ancient times, the explosion of consumption (spurred on first by Napoleon, and later well propelled by the industrialization of our food preparation) is certainly a very recent phenomenon in human history. Never before has man changed his diet so radically in such a short time.
Sugar brings glycogen into the blood. This causes an insulin secretion (if not, you have diabetes) that drastically reduces glycogen levels. Too drastic when it comes to alcohol - unless as a 'dessert' on a lavish meal - or when it comes to (a solution of) granulated sugar. There is that similarity between sugar and alcohol. A too low glucose level in your blood encourages consumption again and so the glycose level, its graph, remains saw teeth. That high sugar consumption predisposes to alcohol addiction is strictly scientifically unproven as far as I know, but to laugh off what it is (a reasonable assumption), as you do, is thoughtless and imprudent.
With your last sentence (“If you are healthy… said the ardent cigar smoker”) you actually (and summarizing) formulate your not-wanting-to-know and not wanting to change. I do not intend to convert you, but put before you (and other forum readers) what is known and pertinent to me. And it is easy to (want to) see the nutritional poverty of the rich Thai children and not that of the rich expat - in the same country - of course, but it is inconsistent and a splinter-beam story.
And another thing: can I please just not go crazy? I don't need that. And if I don't conform to the behavior of "friends" so that they ignore me, then they ignore me. Conformity, incidentally, is not an extension of the uniqueness of every human being that you have observed.
I was brought up with brown bread, brown rice, cane sugar (which is slightly lighter in color than brown sugar) and milk.
These diets have been taught to me, so I don't have to change anything about my eating habits.
And therein lies the difficulty.
That is why many doctors may have stopped providing information.
You don't change the (wrong) habits of people (of whatever capacity).
And if people are not really motivated to change something, then nothing will change.
And it is much easier not to change something in yourself.
Hmm, I don't think it's such a good story from Peter. Again a twist is given to the story to end up with “poor” Isaan. Quite a lot of rich Thai people live here too and far from all the beautiful houses there are “owned” by Farang. Here too you see fat Thai, including many children. But whether these are all rich children …… Do you have the facts of that.
It seems to me that the fast food business is the cause of this problem.
By the way, it is true that the well-to-do children own an iPad, laptop, mobile phone and are taken everywhere in the Benz or similar car of mom or dad.
But bored in their room with air conditioning !!!
They don't have time for that. A schedule that is much too busy: they attend various associations, swimming lessons, ballet lessons, etc. Moreover, they are still stuffed with extra lessons in English, mathematics and other things in order to achieve the highest possible educational level.
And speaking of the food, a few hundred bath per person is peanuts. The rich prefer to go to a restaurant with, for example, a separate room with air conditioning and karaoke. And then the remark that Ma is busy shopping :-(. Often the mother also has a very good job.
So…. NOT such a good story.
Moderator: if you do not want to use capitals (capital letters) from now on to emphasize your words, that is not allowed.
@ Dear Toto, if you had looked closely, you can read that the article is a column. It is only the author's opinion and not a scientific argument about the causes of obesity in Thai children.
It strikes me that several editors have recently defended criticism of their articles with the words “it is a column”. That sounds like the content doesn't matter at all in a column. If you express an opinion, can someone else contest it? There is no shame in admitting that someone else has a good point. That happens to me daily 😉
Personally, I think that the cause of the difference between Bangkok and Isaan, in terms of overweight in children, must be sought more in movement than in prosperity. In Bangkok I also see a lot of fat children from poorer families. A bag of chips or a piece of cake at 7Eleven is cheap and therefore affordable for most. I also see almost all my colleagues getting significantly fatter every year. The communal snacks come less and less often from a street vendor of Thai food and more and more often from the 7 Eleven. Uncomprehending looks are my share when I turn down a snack again. “You are farang, aren't you”, I see them thinking.
I think Peter addresses a very important point with his article, excuse me…column ;). I expect that obesity will eventually become a bigger problem for Thailand than in the West, because information and education are poorer here.
You say it right there, I can already see them thinking you are farang, yes farang will receive better information and education in general compared to the Thai, if I come back here later within 5 or 10 years who will say, I expect that too to find many fatties because of that lousy education we always come back to. H
If something is once again found to be very wrong - in this case that more and more children (and not only children) are getting fat, then education, and - it seems - only that, should solve that.
If poor education alone were the cause of children getting fat, then America has had very poor education for much longer than anywhere else in the world.
In the meantime, we also see in Thailand that the percentage of overweight children is growing faster than the number of overweight adults, at least that has been established in various countries and my visual impression - not only mine - is that the same applies to Thailand. So you can check how “thick” the future looks like. But relatively few children grow beyond their thickness in the growth spurt they usually experience in (pre)puberty - if they are fat.
I'm not saying, of course, that there should be no nutrition education in schools, but in fact, allowing the evil -such as junk food treats- and then telling them that the treat is not good is like allowing a number of carts -whatever I say whole caravans - be driven into the mud and then argue that everything that is in the mud should be pulled out of the mud. Everywhere the shelves (especially those near schools and, for example, near every gas station) are full of mainly harmful products that you should not buy according to information that should be available at school.
Those products are there and are very concrete and tangible, the talk at school can never adequately compete with that. Tying the cat to the bacon and then forbidding that cat to feast on that bacon doesn't help much.
To keep it short and sweet dear Willem, using good prevention through public media can also be applied in my opinion, together with better information in the curriculum, otherwise I don't see how it will be taught. But the government must also be capable enough to recognize this problem and actually tackle it. Of course there is also a lot of money involved in all that harmful fast food stuff and I think that is where the shoe pinches in the so corrupt and very commercial Thailand. Kind regards.
Tackling something of a social nature is almost always an And-And story, in this case And an ideal advertising/information And -the most difficult- the approach of large-scale industrial. I hope this comment is long enough not to get skipped by the moderator autopilot.
The moderator has granted you Willem and apparently me too, have a nice night.
You can summarize the problem as a culture problem. Another aspect that has not been mentioned at all has to do with self-esteem, which is lacking in the upbringing of overweight children and which is not there in any overweight adult in any country.