SHAH ALAM - Most Malaysians lead unhealthy lifestyles, overeating with high content of fatty food, says an expert, further cautioning this could see a surge in kidney problems.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Faculty of Medicine Nephrologist, Dr Muhammad Iqbal Abdul Hafidz said most Malaysians eat more than five times a day."The ideal diet is three times a day, morning, noon, and night, but that does not mean it has to be heavy meals.
"There is no need to eat nasi lemak every morning, and ‘nasi campur’ later at noon," he told Sinar Harian.
Iqbal said Malaysians need to reduce fast food, greasy with food with high salt content and sugar to reduce diabetes and high blood pressure problems.
Iqbal further said up to 60 percent of kidney diseases are caused by diabetes, other reasons for kidney failures are high blood pressure and obesity.
He further cautioned against frequent intake of supplements without expert advice first which could lead to kidney stones and inflammation of the kidneys.
Iqbal said the US Renal Data System (USRDS) data in 2020 showed Malaysians aged 45 to 64 were the second highest group in the world with kidney failure.
"Currently, around 50,000 kidney patients are undergoing dialysis in the country and this number is expected to increase to 106,000 by 2040," he said.