AYAM Brand is continuing its annual community care campaign #AyamBersamaMu Sihat and Cergas, which aims to promote healthy living among children in Malaysia.
First introduced in 2008, the campaign has thus far benefited over 28,350 individuals from 635 NGOs by providing more than 2.2 million nutritious meals.
This year's campaign will focus on building good nutrition habits with Omega-3 for children, and making fitness a part of every child's life for a fitter generation of Malaysians.
In the Klang Valley, the campaign will benefit 425 children from four NGOs by providing them with 76,500 meals.
In partnership with dietetic experts from Columbia Asia, Focus Point Group and nutrition and fitness experts, Ayam Brand will be holding workshops related to the Malaysian Healthy Plate with its emphasis on "Suku-suku Separuh" (quarter-quarter half healthy plate concept), fitness routines that children can do at home, and a fitness challenge to encourage children to remain active for the participating charity homes in Johor, Pulau Pinang, Sarawak, Sabah, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
A. Clouet (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd head of marketing Teoh Wei Ling says everyone deserves access to healthy food and the opportunity to lead a healthy life.
"Through our annual community care programme, we aim to empower individuals and communities to make positive changes to their health and well-being."
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the Omega-3 fatty acid intake of the average Malaysian is currently low.
There are ways to remedy this including consuming more pulses like beans, tofu and fish; using cooking oil that is a blend of palm olein and Omega-3 rich vegetable oil, and including Omega-3 rich foods in our diet.
Teoh says Omega-3 is crucial for heart, brain, nerve, skin and eye health and food products with Omega-3 can help provide this key nutrient for children.
"This year, we are also integrating fitness into our campaign to maintain healthy lifestyles. Malaysia is seeing a rise in childhood stunting and obesity. Knowing our nation is still facing the challenge of obesity, let's start somewhere to help address that," adds Teoh.
Reports also show that health literacy among Malaysians remains low. Malaysia has the highest number of diabetes and obesity cases in Southeast Asia. Additionally, one in three schoolgoing children are overweight or obese.
Ayam Brand is also collaborating with the Focus Point Group on eye health for children giving rising rates of myopia, especially among Asian children, and those who require prescription glasses will receive them through sponsorship by the brand.
In the Klang Valley, the recipients of the campaign are Pertubuhan Anak-Anak Yatim Selangor , Yayasan Sunbeams Home, Pertubuhan Rahoma Darul Fakir Malaysia, Ti-Ratana Welfare Society Malaysia, Shelter Home and Pusat Jagaan Rumah Keluarga Kami.