Obesity VS Productivity

Malaysia is known as a food heaven. With our multi-cultural background, there’s no doubt when it comes to food. We are constantly faced with delicious temptations 24 hours a day, plus the growing popularity of the Internet, we are groomed to be the ‘perfect’ couch potatoes! Recent surveys confirmed that Malaysians top a number of categories under the health risks section:

– 1st in the South East Asia region for obesity and diabetes
– Fattest in the SEA region
– Ranked 6th in Asia-Pacific region for being obese
– 10th laziest nation in the world

Being overweight will lead to laziness and unproductive economy. In 2012, Malaysia’s productivity performance has increased by 2% and the productivity level is RM 58,874. However, our productivity level is way lower compared to our counterparts in SEA region.

In the meantime, overweight individuals are unable to perform a number of tasks, risk of absenteeism, developing injuries and musculoskeletal disorders during work. That is why many companies are not willing to hire an overweight employee.