Why Thailand is putting its Buddhist monks on a diet

Posted by freemexy on December 25th, 2019

Why Thailand is putting its Buddhist monks on a diet It’s 6 a.m. on a Monday morning, and Bangkok is just starting to wake up. Street food vendors begin to serve breakfast as the streets, and sidewalks fill with morning commuters.Behind the gates of Wat Yannawa temple, barefoot monks emerge, their saffron robes a pop of color in the early morning light. From the youngest to the oldest, they do this same routine every day: collect alms, or offerings, from the Buddhist faithful.To get more buddhist diet, you can visit shine news official website.

In metal pails that sway near their hips as they walk, they collect food, drinks and the occasional cash donation for the temple. They pray with the person who offers it, and then return home to prepare the meal with what they’ve been given. More than 90% of Thailand’s population follows Buddhism and the monks here are held in high regard, but there is growing concern about their health: Thailand’s monks are gaining too much weight.Thailand’s National Health Commission Office says there are nearly 349,000 monks in Thailand, and almost half are considered overweight or obese.

There are several factors, but it largely centers around the morning routine — and the changing nature of the offerings placed into the monk’s pails. The monks aren’t able to control their own diet — it’s at the mercy of the offerings they receive each morning. Traditionally, those alms are calorie-rich foods, either processed or homemade — with the Buddhist faithful wanting to offer something of high value and taste. The monks are also forbidden from eating anything after 12 p.m., having only one or two meals a day between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon.Professor Jongjit Angkatavanich, a pharmacist, dietician, and nutritionist who has been studying the health of Thailand’s monks for the past eight years, describes the situation as a “ticking time bomb.

” “When we look at the obesity rate, it’s kind of like the first landmark that we used as an indicator,” Jongjit said.The monks are experiencing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, eye issues and osteoarthritis in knees, but they know very little about them. For example, one of the most shocking things Jongjit has seen is monks with amputated toes and feet because of diabetes, but the monks had no knowledge of the condition — many had never even heard of diabetes.Obesity rates among Thailand’s monks are higher than the wider population — 48% of them are obese compared to 39% of the Thai male population, according to Jongjit’s research. While people might think the monks are simply eating more, Jongjit said that isn’t the case. The monks consume 150 less calories than Thai men. So what’s happening to Thailand’s monks? “After midday, they have to rely on a drink or beverage,” Jongjit explained. “It has changed over time, from the ancient time — right now, it is a soda, a soft drink, a sweetened beverage.”