APPROXIMATELY 6.86 million Malaysian adults are struggling with overweight issues, highlighting growing public health concerns linked to non-communicable diseases (NCD), Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad revealed today.
The figure stems from the recently published National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, which shows that 32.6 percent of adults aged 18 and above are overweight, while an additional 21.8 percent—around 4.58 million people—are classified as obese.
“Overall, more than half of the adult population in Malaysia falls within the overweight or obese category,” Dr Dzulkefly said after officiating the launch of Roczen Universal, a digital health initiative.
He added that diabetes affects 15.6 percent or 3.55 million Malaysians, while hypertension prevalence stands at 29.2 percent, involving 6.65 million individuals.
The survey also highlighted regional variations. Perak recorded the highest diabetes rate at 21.7 percent, closely followed by Pahang at 21.5 percent and Perlis at 20.6 percent. Perak also leads in hypertension cases with 40.2 percent, trailed by Sarawak (39.9 percent) and Perlis (39.1 percent).
“In terms of overweight adults, Kuala Lumpur tops the list with 40.6 percent, followed by Putrajaya at 35.5 percent and Labuan at 34.8 percent. However, Perlis has the highest obesity rate at 32.8 percent,” Dr Dzulkefly explained.
He stressed the government’s commitment to intensifying collaboration efforts to combat the rising tide of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity nationwide.
On the Roczen Universal programme, Dr Dzulkefly said Malaysia is partnering with Reset Health, a UK-based digital health platform used by the National Health Service (NHS) to manage obesity and diabetes, aiming to introduce comprehensive digital healthcare solutions locally.
The minister also noted that the Ministry of Health will propose several new initiatives in the upcoming budget to strengthen national efforts against obesity and diabetes. - August 16, 2025
