DIET
what's
eating you? The Singaporean diet is rich in carbohydrates, fat and salt, but you can make smarter choices when dining out. By AUDRINA GAN
I
n time-‐starved Singapore, most of us opt for the convenience of eating out instead of sitting down to a home-‐cooked meal. Six out of 10 Singaporeans eat out at hawker centres at least four times a week, based on findings from the National Nutrition Survey 2010. The survey also showed that those who do so also consume about 10 per cent more than those who eat at home. “This might be one of the leading causes to the increase in obesity in Singapore,” says Ms Abbie Sim, a dietitian at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. According to the National Health Survey 2010, obesity is on the rise. Obesity rates among Singaporeans are currently at 10.8 per cent of the population, up from 6.9 per cent in 2004. The reason why the local diet is high in calories is because many of us opt to start our days with fat-‐laden foods such as kaya (coconut jam) toast, fried vermicelli noodles topped with other
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WELLNESS FOR ALL
fried items like fried egg or luncheon meat. For lunch and dinner, we tend to go for dishes like chicken rice or nasi lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk). Another concern is the fact that we do not consume enough fibre. “Most people consume only one or two servings of fruits and vegetables while the recommendation is to eat two servings of each daily,” says Ms Angena Teo, a dietitian at Changi General Hospital. Ms Teo says that instead of complementing our meals with fruits and vegetables, we choose beverages high in sugar such as instant coffee, iced lemon tea or fizzy drinks instead. We also love snacks such as curry puff and
chips or sweet stuff like ice-‐cream and chocolate — all of which contribute to a less-‐than-‐ideal diet.
Salty facts A diet high in fat puts us at risk of obesity — but being overweight is only the tip of the iceberg. It can lead to other health complications such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. Obesity is also associated with osteoarthritis as well as breast and colon cancers. And obese individuals are twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Other than eating foods high in fat, Singaporeans also favour salty food.