July 4, 2017, by Communications
Voices 2017- Eating and Exercise: Malaysia’s Looming Health Crisis
Under The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC), on 17 June 2017, The School of Media, Languages and Cultures (SMLC), in collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Health hosted Voices 2017: Eating and Exercise: Malaysia’s Looming Health Crisis at Kuala Lumpur Teaching Centre (KLTC), located in Chulan Tower on Jalan Conlay within Kuala Lumpur city centre where certain postgraduate programmes are delivered. The two-hour seminar that was open to the public ran from 5 to 7pm and featured four guest speakers: Zalma Abdul Razak, the director of the Nutrition Division at the Ministry of Health; Professor Winnie Chee from the Malaysia Dietitians’ Association. Representing UNMC were Dr Suresh K. Mohankumar from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Dr Soma Mitra from the School of Biosciences. The seminar was moderated by Meera Sivasothy from BFM Radio.
From the left: Dr Thomas Barker, Zalma Abdul Razak, Dr Suresh K. Mohankumar, Prof Winnie Chee, Dr Soma Mitra, and Meera Sivasothy
Since 2013, SMLC has organised Voices seminars as a platform to discuss pertinent issues of importance to the Malaysian public. This year’s theme had focused on diet and exercise.
The seminar answered some important questions that arguably all Malaysians deliberate over; how much Nasi Lemak is too much? Should we cut down the consumption of our beloved Teh Tarik? Attendees learned the answers to these questions alongside more diet and nutrition questions that they might have had at the seminar.
While the actual seminar took place from 5 to 7pm, attendees had the opportunity to go through a free body composition analysis, a procedure where medical instruments are used to measure one’s body fat percentage, and blood pressure screening from 3 to 8pm as part of the event.
Dr Thomas Barker from SMLC, who was one of the organisers of the seminar, stated that: “This forum serves to highlight health and diet issues in Malaysia, the effective methods to deal with those issues and to also promote correct approaches towards having a healthier diet. This is possible due to the knowledge and experience of the speakers.”
He also added that: “Through this seminar, we hope to foster a healthy discussion on the issues that affect many Malaysians, and through the discussion provide relevant information that may help them to better understand said issues.”
What’s Next?
The second session of the Voices seminar will see the participation of several Malaysian athletes such as Wong Choong Hann, a former World No.1 professional badminton player. S. Muthiah, a three-time gold medallist in the SEA Games, and S. Kumar, a field hockey goalkeeper who contributed significantly to the achievement of a silver in hockey at the 2010 Asian Games. The seminar will be held on 27 July 2017, 3-6pm in UNMC’s Great Hall. Further details regarding the date and venue of the second seminar will be posted on the UNMC events page.
The purpose of the seminar is not only to explore the insights the guest speakers have for the sports industry but to also showcase the viability of a career in sports through their experience as ex-athletes among other topics. The seminar will serve as an open forum where the audiences are able to ask the guest speakers questions and engage in whatever discussions that they may have.
For more information, or specific enquiries, email Thomas Barker.
-Haggai
thanks