Controlling portion sizes served by food vendors could be an effective tactic in reducing over-consumption and tackling obesity, says Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. Singapore is seeing rising obesity rates, with one in nine Singapore residents aged between 18 and 69 considered obese in 2010, a figure which was approximately double the rate in 1992. Obesity was also found to be more prevalent among males, at 12.1 percent, as compared to females at 9.5 percent.
Over-eating may be linked to cultural habits in Asia, where parents instill in their children the importance of finishing their food to prevent wastage. The transitional phase of finishing school and entering a typically sedentary workforce could worsen excessive consumption, adds Prof Chia, due to the drastic reduction of physical activity levels coupled with an increased income.
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- Campus Eye NUS, 8 December 2016