ASTUNNING change has occurred in Malaysia in less than 20 years: Malaysians have gone from being healthy to sick and health experts blame it on too much food and too little exercise. The percentage of unhealthy Malaysians went up from four per cent in 1996 to 14 per cent 10 years later. Some 2.5 million adults are overweight or obese, and the prevalence of obesity among those aged 18 years and above continues to climb. It went up from 4.4 per cent in 1996 to 14 per cent in 2006, and then, increased gradually to 15.1 per cent in 2011. Many among grossly fat Malaysians are still in their productive years, but worse is to follow. One in four children in the country is obese, and health experts predict that overweight young Malaysians are unlikely to live as long as their parents. Hospitals and doctors are reporting a rise in the number of teenagers with lifestyle diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and various cancers, which are linked to a harmful way of life. Parents are going to outlive their children, says Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity president Professor Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Noor, adding that \u0153our expanding waistline is our own doing and we must realise that obesity is the mother of all diseases\u009d.<\/p>\n