Southeast Asia has a weight problem. Obesity is a growing issue, and some governments are fighting it with specific actions.
Malaysia's government says more than two-thirds of children in the country could be obese or overweight within the next decade.
In Vietnam, that condition describes about 20% of the population, and it's worse in cities.
The Straits Times, a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper, cites government figures showing that more than 41% of teenagers in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, are obese or overweight.
In Ho Chi Minh City, that describes more than half of all teenagers.
The World Health Organization defines obesity, and the less severe condition of overweight, as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.
By the numbers, the WHO uses body mass index, an imperfect calculation linking a person's appropriate weight to their height.
Urbanization gets some of the blame, including a higher tendency to consume sugary drinks, now a target for many Southeast Asian governments.
A study out this week from Tufts University shows nearly half of Southeast Asian countries have established or increased taxes on sugary drinks at a much faster pace than high-income countries around the world.
All of this makes Southeast Asia a growing market for weight-loss drugs.
The market research company IMARC says that the market was more than $6 billion last year and could nearly double within eight years.
