Let’s face it: running a marathon is a thing now. So is pickleball. People happily spend a hundred bucks to enter a race for a medal, a certificate, and a running kit. Healthy living has become trendy, aesthetic, and very visible online.
But is it actually reaching ordinary Malaysians?
The numbers suggest not. According to NHMS 2023, the share of Malaysian adults who are overweight or obese rose from 44.5% in 2011 to 54.4% in 2023. Physical inactivity affected 29.9% of adults in 2023, up from 25.1% in the 2019 survey. The fitness boom looks impressive on our feeds, yet our national health is moving in the wrong direction. NHMS 2023: Over Half Of Malaysian Adults Overweight Or Obese +2
8 to 5 clock out fantasy
Part of the reason is that much of this trend is borrowed. We watch aesthetic fitness and Pilates videos from wealthier countries and try to copy them. Only a small group can truly keep up: those with the money, the flexible schedules, and the energy. For them, a Pilates membership, a gym, and weekend races are realistic.
For everyone else, life looks different. On paper, working 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seems manageable. In reality, work often runs past 5, then comes the traffic jam, and we reach home at night. Add groceries, household chores, and family responsibilities, and there is barely any energy left. How many of us can hit 10,000 steps every day, or make it to the gym daily, while starting work at 8 a.m.?
Photo Credit: Attiqah Mohd
The problem is not that Malaysians are lazy. It is that healthy living has been packaged as something expensive and time-consuming, when it should be simple and accessible.
So what would actually help?
If we want to make a healthy lifestyle part of our daily lives, and not just something for special occasions, the government needs to step up their game and work on flexible working hours for Malaysian workers.
- More flexible working hours, so people can exercise before the traffic or before the evening gets away from them.
- Workplace facilities, like gyms or exercise spaces in the office, similar to what AirAsia has at its Red Q headquarters.
After all, being healthy should not require a race entry fee, a studio membership, or a perfect Instagram routine. A brisk walk and a balanced meal count too. Healthy living should be a basic right, not a luxury. Until it is, the fitness boom is just a privilege with a nice aesthetic.
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Attiqah Mohd (attiqahsolehah@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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