We love listening to podcasts as we are able to access in-depth stories and analysis of important topical issues. We especially like listening to podcasts that cover public health topics as it gives us rare insight directly from the researchers, policymakers and NGOs working out in the community to improve the public’s health. With that said, a couple of weeks ago, the BBC’s The Documentary Podcast released an episode on the obesity crisis amongst Buddhist monks in Thailand. This is a public health crisis that we weren’t aware of and so we found this be a remarkably interesting episode. In this episode, we heard of all the factors that have led to this crisis and how an age-old, well-intentioned custom of offering food to monks has been corrupted by modern-day habits leading to this current obesity crisis.
Historically, the giving and receiving of alms between monks and their local community were of significant benefit. The community would take care of the physical health of monks by preparing healthy, home-cooked meals and in return, the monks would take care of the spiritual health of their community. With communities getting more affluent and many people working long hours, the public no longer has time to cook for monks and instead buy foods that are high in fat and sugar. Combining this with the fact that monks are not meeting the recommended amounts of physical activity has meant that 1 in 2 Thai monks are now obese and this puts them at a high risk of developing non-communicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
Overall, researchers in Thailand identified four main factors leading to the high prevalence of obesity in monks:
- An unhealthy diet
- High consumption of sugary drinks
- Loose-fitting robes, which means monks are gaining weight without realising it
- Physical inactivity.
This podcast episode also explored the work the Thai Government is doing to address this problem through special clinics for monks and the Healthy Monks, Healthy Nutrition Project which has developed specific solutions for monks. One creative approach to tackling this crisis was the development of a smart belt to create a trigger for weight gain to alert monks that they are gaining weight.
This was a very interesting story that highlights the dangers of diets that are high in sugar, salt and fat as well as being physically inactive. We hope that Thailand will be successful in managing this crisis.
You can listen to the podcast episode here where you’ll hear from researchers, monks and members of the public to gain a full understanding of how the crisis started and the steps being taken to address this issue.
