Like many people in Myanmar, Khin Cho Thet uses plenty of oil when cooking for her family. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

CRUNCHY, deep-fried and oily dishes are the tastiest of foods to 21-year-old Ma Htet Htet.

Her slightly overweight body reflects her love affair with such unhealthy delights but she said she never cared about it until she saw a television program on how bad fried food is for a person’s body.

“Although I already knew that eating too much oily food was not good for my health, that was the moment I began to consider it carefully myself,” said Ma Htet Htet, who started to notice small signs that her body was not in shape. For instance, it began to play on her mind that she gets tired faster than friends of the same age.

That television program was a watershed moment for Ma Htet Htet and she realised she needed to change her ways.

“I know I need to alter my diet but it’s going to be very tough. Just knowing what is right or wrong is not enough to act but I’ll be trying,” she said.

Ma Htet Htet is one of 55 million Myanmar people who have grown up in an oil-rich food culture. And she’s not alone in wanting to adopt a healthier diet.

There is no doubt that Myanmar people love oil: The country’s per capita consumption of edible oils is a staggering 10 kilograms a year according to official data.

Oil is embedded in the culture and was historically seen as a sign of prosperity. In time this “prosperity” has oozed down to all levels of society and now even roadside food vendors drown their products in oil.

But this culture has become a national health concern.
Professor Khin Maung Win, who heads the Department of Hepatology at Yangon General Hospital, said the historical consumption of oil in Myanmar has been warped into today’s reality.

“Our historical consumption of oil is vastly different to what we see today,” he said.

The oils that reach the dinner table have changed, he said. Traditional oils derived from nuts or sesame seeds yield unsaturated oils but these have been replaced by cheaper products, like palm oil.

These oils are high in saturated fats that raise cholesterol and clog arteries. In turn this leads to conditions like hypertension, heightened blood pressure and ultimately, heart attacks.

Another reason is that many people simply are not as active as they used to be. Historically, people got around by walking or riding a bicycle but now people drive cars or catch the bus. Increased urbanisation and less-active careers have reduced the amount of energy people expend during the day, meaning less cholesterol is burned up, Professor Khin Maung Win said.

“Eating too much oil contributes in a major way to decreasing life expectancy,” he said.

Doctors say the most unhealthy way to cook food is to deep fry, which is exactly how Ma Htet Htet likes it.

Many vendors and teashops sell readily available snacks like Ei-kyar-kway, Pa-la-tar and fried vegetables that are deep fried with recycled oil, Dr Thet Naing Maung said.

As these shops reuse their oil, the level of saturated fats increases, said Dr Hein Htet Aung, a young doctor from Mandalay.

“It is really bad. Often I look at a vendor’s pan and see only blackened oil; you can only guess how many times that oil has been used,” he mused.
And a solution is unlikely to arrive anytime soon.

Unsaturated oils are expensive and the cheaper saturated oils are the only option for vendors who want to turn a profit, said one Yangon housewife, Daw Yin May.

For consumers with limited incomes and few options of where to buy their meals, the choice is obvious.

“What can people do? Not everyone is rich. Many people know that oil is bad for their health but when it comes to feeding their families, they can’t necessarily avoid eating lots of oil, especially if they buy food on the street,” Daw Yin May said, adding that it was often the same story at home.

She grumbled that even families who would normally avoid palm oil must sometimes drop their stubbornness because better oils are too expensive.
However, Professor Khin Maung Win flatly rejected this suggestion and said many people relied on similar excuses to hold onto habits they love.

Cultural change, he said, must start at home.

“We need to get rid of the concept that only oily dishes are tasty and that oil is an essential ingredient in a civilised and proper meal.

“We should learn from other countries like Japan and Korea, as well as some local groups, about how to cook meals without oil. It’s a much healthier lifestyle.”

He used Britain’s recent transformation of school menus as an example of what needs to happen. He said fish and chips – a traditional British meal – can only be served at school cafeterias twice a week because it is extremely unhealthy.

“We may have had this habit our whole lives but if it harms our national interest, we need to opt for a complete change,” he said.

Dr Thet Naing Maung said more people have become aware of the issue through government and media campaigns to highlight the problem.

Sadly this has not resulted in any reduction in cases and he is still receiving a regular flow of patients with diseases related to over-consumption of oil.
For people whose diets have been unhealthy for many years the writing is already on the wall, or at least on the arteries leading to their hearts.

Healthy eating and lifestyle choices, Dr Thet Naing Maung said, must start with young people and on this Professor Khin Maung Win agreed.

“I had one patient who said she will try to reduce how much oil she eats when she reaches 40,” he said.

His reply was anything but sugar coated: “I told her that by then it’ll be too late.”
Dr Hein Htet Aung said health awareness programs should be run at state schools so that children embrace a new tradition of healthy eating. He said posters placed at markets – where they will be seen by parents – would be a good way to start.

“We need to keep talking about this problem until people have it stuck in their minds.”

In raising awareness, Dr Thet Naing Maung said presentation is critical to deliver the full impact.

“Boring messages and programs will not be effective. I think television programs with actors people love and admire are a better way to make the nation listen,” he said.

All the experts contacted by The Myanmar Times agreed that changing a culture of meals based around oil would take persistent effort.
“I think it will take between 10 and 15 years to transform the habit,” said Professor Khin Maung Win.

“It can’t be done individually but needs a joint effort from the government and the media.”

“People need to stop making excuses and concentrate on breaking this unhealthy habit.”