Expanding waistlines weigh heavily on M'sia

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIANS have a passionate love affair with their lip-smacking cuisine - rich curries, succulent fried chicken, buttery breads and creamy drinks - but it is increasingly an unhealthy relationship. Malaysia is South-east Asia's fattest country, where a nationwide foodie culture is feeding mounting concern over what its health minister calls "an obesity epidemic".

"We are the most obese nation in South-east Asia, and Malaysians are becoming more and more obese," Health Minister S Subramaniam told AFP, warning of a "crisis in unhealthy behaviour".