Thailand is drafting a law to control the advertising of unhealthy food, in a bid to combat soaring rates of obesity in children.
“The draft law will be presented to the Public Health Ministry later this year in the hope that it will take effect next year,” said Dr Saipin Chotivichien, director of the Nutrition Bureau in the ministry’s Health Department.
Obesity has doubled in Thailand over the past two decades, according to a 2020 survey by Mahidol University. During that period, the percentage of obese children in the one-to-five age group has shot up from 5.8 to 11.4 percent. The percentage of obese kids aged five to 14 has risen even further, from 5.8 to 13.9 percent. A similar upward trend was found among 15 to 18-year-olds.
“Based on Public Health Ministry data as of February this year, 13.2 percent of Thais aged between 15 and 18 are obese. This figure is high,”…
