On 28th January 2018, over 700 participants from all walks joined the #Obese2Beast Fun Walk organized by a newly formed student-led NGO made up of a group of MBA students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia called the Persatuan Sihat Sejahtera (The Backbenchers).
All the finishers of the #Obese2Beast Fun Walk are rewarded with a medal.
The group intend to spread the awareness of the alarming rate of obesity in Malaysia and to encourage the society to be back on track through fun activities to help the obese.
Obesity has been taken lightly by the Malaysian society and is viewed as an appearance or cosmetic issue than a health issue. The percentage of obese adults in Malaysia has increased from 10.5% back in 2010 to 13.3% in 2014 which translates to an increase of 27% of obese people in the country.
All smiles as the group completed the charity fun walk around the stunning Sunway neighbourhood.
As Southeast Asia is increasingly urbanized, it reflects to more sedentary lifestyles and desk-bound. Further, increased incomes led to increased food intake and consumption of ‘convenience’ foods. Besides, rise in overweight and obese might be an indication of success. This is more prevalent in countries that has been battling poverty and under-nutrition.
One of the fun activities along the 5KM route are playing with the bubbles.
“The sole purpose that we created this NGO is to assist the obese to live healthily. There are reports indicating that Malaysians are the most obese in Southeast Asia and this is worrying us. This worrying rate is increasing steadily and we hope we could do something about this and make a difference in our society, which led to the formation of our NGO which is specially catered to help the obese to lead a healthy lifestyle,” said Rouvin Kumar, the President of Persatuan Sihat Sejahtera (The Backbenchers).
Two of the #Obese2Beast Fun Walk participants posed for a photo just before the flag off at 720am.
“#Obese2Beast Fun Walk is one of the activities that we’re organizing and all of the proceeds from this event would be channeled to UNICEF Malaysia to aid more children who are obese or at risk of falling into the category to be healthy. During the 5KM Fun Walk around the stunning Sunway neighbourhood in the morning breeze, there are many stations where participants of our fun walk can enjoy along the way,” said Aaron Dason, the Project Manager of #Obese2Beast Fun Walk by Persatuan Sihat Sejahtera (The Backbenchers).
A group of friends posed for a photo after completing the #Obese2Beast Fun Walk.
We at Get Fit KL are super pumped that causes like these are being acted upon for the sake of a healthier and happier Malaysia!
If you’re in the running to get fitter, click here for fun workout ideas around KL!
