Bangkok: The government is promoting the success of its "carb counting" policy, which has led to changes in people's eating habits, reducing the number of NCD patients by more than 50,000 cases, and reducing medical expenses by more than 600 million baht per year. Mr. Anukul Prueksanusak, Deputy Government Spokesperson, revealed that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are currently a major health threat, significantly impacting the quality of life and healthcare costs of Thai people. They also pose an obstacle to national, economic, and social development. This requires the government to play a key role in supporting healthcare costs to reduce illness. This is because these diseases are not caused by infection, but primarily stem from long-term, inappropriate lifestyle behaviors, such as unhealthy eating habits, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption, stress, and insufficient rest, leading to factors contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory diseases.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Anukul stated that the government, through the Ministry of Public Health, has declared its commitment to preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases (NCDs), focusing on raising awareness and promoting public understanding through key mechanisms to change people's consumption behavior. This includes promoting carbohydrate counting, or "carb counting," to appropriately control consumption at each meal and to control blood sugar levels, comprehensively reducing risk factors for various diseases. Regarding the adjustment of people's consumption behavior using carbohydrate counting, 20,741 were able to stop taking medication within three months, with 14,715 stopping medication initially. This totals 35,456, while 23,597 reduced medication use. This results in a reduction of 603.48 million baht in annual healthcare expenditures. However, not only has the number of healthcare expenditures decreased, but investment in chronic disease management has also shown an upward tren d, driven by the number of carbohydrate counters nationwide. Currently, there are 37.19 million people, or 74.39 percent, and it is expected that by September there will be 50 million people counting carbs.
"The problem of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major challenge. The government is committed to continuously promoting public health programs to raise awareness, understanding, and appropriate prevention strategies. The government emphasizes that health costs are the most important factor. Serious behavioral change, awareness of life-related risk factors, and effective prevention and control measures will help reduce the risk factors for NCDs and promote sustainable long-term good health," Mr. Anukul stated.