Cabinet Committee To Tackle Rise In Non-Communicable Diseases

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- The government has set up a Cabinet committee to check the worrying trends of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and mental health, said Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai. He said the government would adopt strategies that would involve more localities and enhance skills and knowledge to reduce NCDs and promote a healthy lifestyle at the grassroots level. A "COMBI (Communication for Behavioural Impact) Guideline on Healthy Lifestyle Practices to Prevent NCDs" will be published early next year while health and community personnel will attend a special training starting March, he said when introducing 1Malaysia Health Ambassadors here on Thursday. Liow said the National Health and Morbidity Survey this year showed that 20.8 per cent of those aged 30 years and above had diabetes compared to 14.9 percent in 2006 while obesity rose to 15.1 per cent this year from 14 per cent in 2006. He said 32.7 per cent of population suffered high blood pressure compared to 32.2 percent in 2006 while mental health among children aged between five and nine years rose to 19.1 per cent from 12.3 per cent in 1996 and among teenagers aged 15 and 16, the cases increased to 22.2 per cent from 13.4 per cent. He said in 2006, 21.5 per cent of adults and 18.2 per cent of teenagers aged between 13 and 15 were smoking and exposed themselves to chronic diseases such as heart attack, cancer, lung diseases and stroke. The study found that only 7.5 per cent of Malaysians took five servings of vegetables and fruits daily as recommended by the World Health Organisation but physical activities rose from 56.3 per cent in 2006 to 64.8 per cent this year, he added. Liow said the ministry would enlarge the Combi application, which previously focused on dengue prevention, to promote healthy lifestyle and prevent NCDs. Meanwhile, he said dengue cases this year until Saturday dropped by 58 per cent to 18.731 cases while deaths decreased by 74 per cent to 234 compared to the corresponding period last year (44.641 cases, 132 deaths). However, there was a slight increase in the number of dengue cases over the past nine weeks in 84 locations, he added. -- BERNAMA Malaysia