Dangerous trio: Are Malaysians overindulging in sugar, salt, and oil?

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 — The excessive consumption of sugar, salt, and oil has become a significant health concern in recent years, contributing to Malaysia’s rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Thanks to our vibrant gastronomy and to-die-for flavours, Malaysian street food offers a temptation that is hard to resist but often comes with hidden health hazards.

Many recent studies have found that the local street fare is frequently high in sugar, salt, and oil.

While these foods are delicious and culturally significant, their regular consumption in excessive amounts can lead to health issues.

Health hazards

According to the latest National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023, around 2.3 million Malaysian adults, representing approximately 10 per cent of the adult population, are burdened with three NCDs.

These diseases are strongly linked to unhealthy dietary habits and are posing a serious public health challenge.

The survey highlights obesity (54.4 per cent), high cholesterol (33.3 per cent), hypertension (29.2 per cent), and diabetes (15.6 per cent) as the top four prevalent NCDs among Malaysian adults.

These conditions are often exacerbated by excessive intake of sugar, salt, and oil, components prevalent in many traditional and modern diets.

Foods to watch out

Maintaining a balanced diet requires understanding the recommended daily intake of sugar, salt, and oil and making informed choices when it comes to food consumption.

For sugar, the World Health Organisation (WHO) advises that sugar should make up less than 10 per cent of the daily energy intake, which equals to about 50 grams or 12 teaspoons.

In the context of Malaysian cuisine, this means moderating the intake of sweet treats like teh tarik, which can easily exceed the daily sugar limit if consumed in large amounts or multiple servings.

Additionally, in a study published by the Health Ministry, most kuih or traditional Malay cakes, contain 10-13 grams of sugar per serving.

Salt intake, on the other hand, should not exceed five grams (equivalent to 2,000mg of sodium) per day, according to guidelines set by WHO.

This amount is equivalent to about one teaspoon of salt.

Many Malaysian snacks and dishes, such as keropok lekor and ikan bakar, can be high in salt, particularly when they are heavily seasoned or consumed in large quantities.

A recent study published in the National Library of Medicine found that many Malaysian street foods such as fried fish balls, apam balik with cheese and kerepek are notably high in sodium.

According to the study, 100g of fried fish balls contains around 815mg of sodium, accounting for almost half of the recommended daily intake.

As for oil and fats, WHO’s guidelines recommend that total fat intake should not exceed 30 per cent of total daily calories.

For someone following a 2,000-calorie diet, this amounts to about 67 grams of total fat per day.

It’s recommended to focus on healthy fats, such as those from fish, nuts, seeds, and plant oils while limiting saturated fats and avoiding trans fats that are in processed food.

In Malaysian cuisine, dishes like rendang and fried snacks such as cakoi and pisang goreng were found to contain high oil content.