Malaysian Obesity Society

09/11/2025

There's science behind weight recurrence.

Research shows that 80 to 95 percent of people who lose weight regain it within three to five years. Scientists say that’s not a failure of willpower. Hormones, genetics, and even evolution push the body to fight back—driving hunger up, slowing metabolism, and urging the pounds to return. Here’s how researchers say we can work with our bodies, not against them: https://on.natgeo.com/49qKfg7

08/11/2025

On the cover this week, a new analysis of the SELECT trial confirms semaglutide lowers the risk of major heart problems in people who are overweight or obese and already have heart disease, even if they don’t have diabetes.

Read this & more in the latest issue, link in comments 👇

08/11/2025

The benefit of Obesity Medication Management (OMM) goes beyond the weight loss!

On the cover this week, a new analysis of the SELECT trial confirms semaglutide lowers the risk of major heart problems in people who are overweight or obese and already have heart disease, even if they don’t have diabetes.

Read this & more in the latest issue, link in comments 👇

03/11/2025

MYOS is excited to be at INSPEN, Kajang, Selangor, today to collaborate with Ministry of Health in organizing the Training of Trainers (ToT) of the Multidisciplinary Integrated Management of Obesity (MIMO) that is to be rolled out very soon.

Prof Nisak, Dr Ariff Fahmi and Dr Masni shared on the different aspects of management of obesity, backed by strong scientific basis, clinical experience, and real-life examples.

We are very encouraged by the support by MoH, the strong attendance and response by the healthcare professionals from around the country who are earmarked as leaders in their respective institutions to conduct integrated obesity care in their settings.

We are optimistic that this will be a catalyst for improvement of clinical obesity care nationwide in the near future 💪🏽

24/10/2025

Liver health is an often overlooked imperative.

A blog by The Public Health Liver Group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).

19/10/2025

✨️🪔Wishing everyone a Bright and Healthy Deepavali!
🪔✨️
May this Festival of Lights bring joy, health, and harmony to all.
— Malaysian Obesity Society (MYOS)

12/10/2025

📣 CALLING FOR ABSTRACTS!

The 2nd National Obesity Scientific Meeting (NOSM 2026) is now open for abstract submissions!
Join us and share your research, ideas, and innovations in obesity science. Don’t miss the chance to be one of our Oral Presenters! 🌟

📍 Event Details:
🗓️ 11th – 12th April 2026
📌 Connexion Conference & Event Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

🔗 Scan the QR code on the poster or visit our conference website below to submit your abstract(s)!
https://myosconference.com/

06/10/2025

🇲🇾 Malaysia’s SSB Tax — 5 Years On 🍹💰

Less sugar, more awareness — but room to grow.

The Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA and UNICEF evaluated Malaysia’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, introduced in 2019 to curb obesity and NCDs.

🔍 Key findings:
• 💸 Retail prices rose only 2.2%, below the expected 8.3%, as producers absorbed costs or reformulated drinks.
• 🧃 More “Healthier Choice” products now on shelves — showing industry reformulation works.
• 📉 SSB consumption dropped (16.4% drank carbonated drinks monthly vs 36.9% in 2017 NHMS).
• ⚠️ Low awareness: only 1 in 4 adolescents and 1 in 3 parents knew about the tax.
• 💼 No job loss or major business impact; large producers adapted faster than SMEs.
• 💰 RM198.6 million revenue collected (2020–2022) — but funds are not earmarked for health programmes.

🔑 Recommendations:
1. Raise the tax rate and tighten enforcement.
2. Support SMEs to produce healthier beverages.
3. Earmark tax revenue for health and nutrition programmes.
4. Enhance public education and target rural & B40 communities.
5. Restrict marketing of unhealthy drinks to children.

⸻

🩺 The SSB tax works — but to make Malaysians truly healthier, it needs stronger rates, better communication, and visible reinvestment into health.

27/09/2025

Tahniah!

26/09/2025

Congratulations KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA on winning the 2025 Task Force Awards for pioneering innovative, multisectoral action on obesity.

MyOS is proud to work with Nutritionistkkm Bahagian Pembangunan Kesihatan Keluarga, Bahagian Kawalan Penyakit dan Malaysia Association for Study of Obesity in this endeavour!

31/08/2025

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!
This year’s National Day marks a meaningful milestone for MYOS. In conjunction with celebrating Malaysia’s 68th Independence Day, MYOS had the privilege of serving as an Educational Partner for a landmark event.

As a professional society still under three years old, we were honored to be invited to chair one of the sessions at the official launch of Tirzepatide in Malaysia. Tirzepatide is a dual GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) receptor agonist for obesity management, proven to deliver unprecedented results in weight reduction and improvement of obesity-related comorbidities. First approved in 2022 for type 2 diabetes and in 2023 for obesity, it has now reached our shores in August 2025—a timely arrival as Malaysia grapples with a burgeoning epidemic of obesity and diabetes.

MYOS strongly supports the evidence-based, appropriate use of obesity management medications (OMMs). In her Welcome Note, our President, Professor Dr Rohana Abdul Ghani, emphasized that obesity is increasingly recognized as a chronic disease at the forefront of metabolic disorders—on par with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. Obesity is not a personal failure of the individual, it is a chronic noncommunicable disease with distinct signs and symptoms, which require specific treatments. The advent of effective OMMs is a beacon of hope in our collective fight against the obesity epidemic.

We look forward to a brighter future for Obesity Medicine in Malaysia, and warmly welcome healthcare and allied health professionals to join us in making obesity treatment more accessible to all who need it.