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Published on February 3, 2008

The recent warning issued by anti-obesity activists and nutritionists that Thais' bulging waistlines can be attributed mainly to their penchant for takeaway food and eating out came as no surprise. To put it another way, too many Thais are too lazy to cook their own meals. That is just as true for people who have to spend hours travelling to and from work everyday as it is for many who work or stay at home all day.

According to Khon Thai Rai Poong (Thais Without Bulging Bellies), Thais eat non-home-cooked meals (meals eaten out and takeaway food) 13 times a week - the highest rate in Southeast Asia. Who can really blame them when there are dozens of roadside food stalls and cheap eateries on virtually every street corner.

The shrinking size of the average household, as well as a hectic modern lifestyle and traffic jams dissuade them from cooking their own meals.

For example, not many people have the luxury to sit down to a proper, nutritious breakfast at home, and fewer still are able to pack their own lunch. In many families, members arrive home separately in the evening, and they usually eat before arriving. It is not even economical nor does it make sense to buy meat and vegetables to prepare meals when nobody is there to eat them.

Many health-conscious housewives with the best of intentions to provide their family with healthy meals give up because they feel it is not worthwhile to do so when one can grab food in plastic bags and food containers, which are available everywhere from supermarkets to roadside stalls.

The problem is that the sort of food offered by posh restaurants, air-conditioned food courts and roadside stalls is becoming less and less healthy. Dishes are often too greasy, too salty or too sweet and/or contain too much MSG. And many Thais prefer to have sweetened carbonated drinks and other beverages with their meals.

A can of a carbonated soda comes with approximately 12 teaspoons of sugar, which adds up to a whopping 240 calories. Once consumed, most of the carbohydrates in the sugar soon turn into fat that is stored in the body.

Dr Khanat Kruthkul, a cardiology expert and clinical nutritionist at Ramathibodi Hospital, said people who eat meals not prepared at home add on average 290 more calories to their diets than those who eat home-cooked meals. Restaurant meals use more oil and offer dishes that are extra-rich in calories.

Cooking at home enables people to pick and choose ingredients, as well as control portions and preparation in order to meet their dietary requirements or to better suit their lifestyles or health.

As long as people continue to eat out or consume takeaway food, the guidelines provided by anti-obesity activists and nutritionists, which state that the average moderately active Thai man should eat less than 2,000 calories and a woman under 1,500 calories a day, will be virtually impossible to observe. To illustrate their point, nutritionists say a bottle of a carbonated soda contains the same amount of calories as three helpings of cooked rice.

According to Dr Saming Kaocharoen of the Khon Thai Rai Poong Network, the number of overweight people in Thailand rose 7.5 times between 1986 and 2004. It is estimated there are between 10 million and 12 million obese people in this country today. That translates into one in six Thais being overweight and in danger of heart disease, diabetes and stroke - three of the top 10 causes of death in the country.

Of course, there are other lifestyle factors that factor into obesity, but food intake is certainly among the most important contributors to this weighty problem. Now that anti-obesity activists and nutritionists have identified some of the problems, it's time to promote healthy home cooking. It has been a while since modern women began to profess having no cooking skills, as if that were a badge of honour and a sign of liberation.

But cooking should be promoted as a fun activity for both men and women. With modern-day amenities like larger refrigerators that can preserve food for a longer time, people can prepare their salubrious meals, store them in the fridge and reheat them whenever they want to eat.

The Nation