Boosting your metabolic rate

 

 Slow Metabolism? 8 Proven Ways to Boost It & Lose Weight | Joanna Soh

 

INCREASING metabolic rates have been an interest of many, especially among weightconscious individuals. Understanding metabolism is crucial in guiding us to obtain an optimal metabolic rate.

‘Metabole’ is a Greek word for ‘change’. In the context of the human body, metabolism means the conversion of energy intake – consumed food into energy and waste products. Increasing the rate of conversion is believed to increase the rate of burning off body fat. Is this true?

Consultant family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician at MSU Medical Centre Dr Faridah Mohd Zin explains, “Our body consumes energy through four pathways: basal metabolism, food thermogenesis, nonexercise activities thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activities thermogenesis (EAT).

“More than half of the body’s metabolism is consumed as basal metabolism i.e., for the function of vital organs such as the heart, kidneys, brain and many others (about 60%). The thermic effect of food has the lowest contribution which involves the energy needed to change the food we eat into substances that are “edible” by our cells such as glucose (about 10%). Increasing the metabolic rate would mean increasing the energy-burning rate of the body, which theoretically could be increased by optimising the NEAT, EAT, thermic effect of food and the body’s metabolism.”

NEAT relates to the energy consumed while performing daily activities. Optimising daily activities such as cooking while standing or pacing around the room while on the phone have shown to increase metabolic rate. Since these activities are done every day, enhancing the energy burnt through this pathway could be regarded as an opportunity that should not be missed. Moreover, NEAT is found to be associated with an improvement in overall health and helps in body fat reduction.

EAT relates to the body’s energy consumption through structured exercise, which primarily includes cardiovascular, strengthening, flexibility and balance exercises. Furthermore, each type should have specific criteria in terms of frequency, intensity, time and types to achieve the different exercise objectives. For example, in maintaining fitness, a total of 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per week is recommended, while a longer duration is needed for body weight reduction.

Food thermogenesis contributes the least to body energy consumption. High lean protein and whole foods use more energy compared to other types of food and processed foods. Although consuming them would induce a higher metabolic rate, the contribution made to the increase of daily body metabolism is the lowest.

The major factors contributing to basal metabolic rate include sex, height, age, ethnicity, body composition and genetic factors. Body fat and muscle mass are the only factors that can be intentionally changed.

Total body fat is composed of essential and storage fat. Storage fat is mainly deposited under the skin as subcutaneous fat, or around body organs as visceral fat. The latter has been shown to have a strong correlation with cardiovascular diseases including heart attack and stroke. Energy consumption of more than required would be stored in the body as fat. Hence, a negative balance between energy intake and consumption is essential to force our body to use stored fat as a source of energy, leading to weight reduction. As the origin of stored fat comes from food, an alteration of an individual’s food intake is crucial to achieve the desired level of body fat.

Increasing muscle mass would increase the body’s ability to use up energy. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends regular resistance training exercises to build and maintain muscle. Men and women should participate in muscle strengthening activities that work the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders and arms) at least two times each week. Examples of muscle strengthening activities include lifting weights, using resistance bands, and doing push-ups and some forms of yoga. Even daily activities such as gardening, playing with your kids and carrying the groceries can strengthen muscles.

Although resistance training is an important part of a complete exercise regimen, consuming the appropriate amount and type of protein to maintain and build muscle is just as important. On top of that, a healthy balanced diet is crucial to ensure adequate macro and micronutrients are supplied for a healthy body.

Body metabolism happens continuously, allowing ongoing opportunities to maximise its effect. Body fat is a way our body stores unused energy. Hence, optimising the body’s metabolism while eating less than our body’s daily energy requirement will certainly force our body to burn energy from the stored body fat. Thus, consistency in creating this negative balance in energy will gradually get rid of unwanted body composition, namely the stored fat.

   By Dr Faridah Mohd Zin.

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Cybercriminals beware: public must be aware of how scams work, Putting the brakes on cybercrime

PUTTING THE BRAKES ON CYBERCRIME - PDRM

 A day after The Star’s page one story on the increasing number of online financial crimes, Bank Negara announces it is joining forces with the police to stem the rising tide. The central bank is instituting tighter security controls while the cops are intensifying efforts to make the public more aware of cybercrimes. 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/09/27/putting-the-brakes-on-cybercrime?dmplayersource=share-link

  Public must be more aware of how scams work

KUALA LUMPUR: Cybercriminals are very good at quickly adopting and exploiting new technological changes to stay ahead of law enforcement while they scam millions from the public.

This is why the number of online financial crimes is rising around the world and in Malaysia, according to Inspector-general of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

Such crimes can have terrible consequences, he pointed out in his speech before he and Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus launched a virtual Financial Crime exhibition yesterday.

“Financial crimes can devastate the victim and lead to more mule accounts being created for the purpose of scams. It can also have a negative impact on the nation’s economy in the long term,” said Acryl Sani.

Loan scammers and Ah Long (loan sharks) use social media sites and chat applications to advertise their loan offers with fast approvals.

“The syndicates will deal with the victims online and demand various documents and fees before duping them,” he explained.

Bukit Aman expects the syndicates will still employ similar tactics, but they will focus on a younger victim pool – students and youths – to pull off illegal money lending and mule account scams now.

“We are cooperating with banking institutions to ensure investigations, especially those involving mule accounts, can be completed faster,” Acryl Sani said.

Fraud in online purchases, loan and investment scams, the Macau and African scams, business email hacks and SMS scams are the main types of financial crimes and such cases have been on the rise from 2019 to 2021 (the last full year on which statistics were collected), the IGP said.

In 2019, there were 13,703 cases recorded with Rm539mil in losses; followed by 17,227 cases in 2020 and Rm511.2mil in losses; and 20,701 cases last year with Rm560.8mil lost. As at July this year, 12,092 cases had been recorded, resulting in Rm414.8mil in losses, he said.

Bukit Aman has rounded up 33,147 suspects between 2019 and July this year, while 22,196 cases have been prosecuted.

While there is some awareness among members of the public of such crimes nowadays, it is still not strong enough to prevent increasing numbers.

The Royal Malaysia Police has various programmes and campaigns to raise awareness about cybercrimes among the public, such as the “Let’s Fight Scammers Together” campaign.

“We will step up such activities this year,” Acryl Sani added.

The IGP advised the public to safeguard their personal information and avoid downloading files or applications from unverified sources onto mobile devices.

Account holders who encounter suspicious transactions involving their bank accounts should immediately notify their banks, contact the CCID infoline via Whatsapp at 013211 1222, or the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599 or BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465.

“They should also lodge a police report to facilitate the investigation,” said Acryl Sani.

The virtual Financial Crime exhibition by Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery, which can be accessed at bit.ly/bnm_ crime, lays out various types of financial crimes and how they have evolved over time.

It features interactive exhibits that allow the public to simulate financial scam scenarios. Through the various exhibits, the public will be able to learn strategies – such as Spot, Stop and Share, aka 3S – to protect themselves and others from becoming victims. 

 

Putting the brakes on cybercrime

 Banks to further tighten security control to stay one step ahead of scammers

KUALA LUMPUR: If you notice your online banking transactions taking a little longer in the future, don’t complain. It’s a sign that your bank is trying to protect you from cybercriminals.

Concerned by the rising number of scams and online financial crimes globally and in Malaysia, Bank Negara is directing the banking industry to undertake tighter security controls, its governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said.

ALSO READ:  Public must be more aware of how scams work

The level of concern is great enough to bring about a rare high-level meeting between Nor Shamsiah and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani yesterday, when they also launched a virtual Financial Crime Exhibition.

“Bank Negara requires banks in Malaysia to adopt high standards of security, especially for Internet and mobile banking services,” Nor Shamsiah said in her speech at the event.

ALSO READ:Watch out! There are many ways in which we get duped

This will include measures such as migration of SMS one-time-passwords (OTPs) to a more secure form of authentication; further tightening of detection rules and triggers for blocking scam-related transactions; and subjecting first-time enrolment of online banking services and secure devices to a cooling-off period.

Customers will also be restricted to one mobile device or secure device for authenticating online banking transactions, and banks will also be required to set up dedicated scam hotlines.

ALSO READ: Consumers must become more aware of scams

While the control measures may entail some inconvenience, they are important to protect customers.

“These controls may lead to some friction or inconvenience in the online banking experience of customers.

“For example, online banking transactions might take a little longer to process. Financial institutions will also conduct more checks when customers request to change or register a new phone number,” Nor Shamsiah said.

Fighting crime: Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani at the virtual launch of Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery’s ‘Financial Crime: Scan Before You’re Scammed’. — Bank Negara

However, she said, when implementing these measures, Bank Negara and the financial industry will continue to carefully balance between security considerations and customer convenience.

She also said that financial institutions have been directed to be more responsive to scam reports lodged by customers and to facilitate efforts to recover and protect stolen funds, including working with relevant agencies to prevent further losses.

“Bank Negara will also continue to monitor and take appropriate action with financial institutions to ensure that the highest levels of controls and security standards are observed.

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 https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Content/Images/cybercrime.jpg

“We will also continue to take effective preventive measures against ever-evolving financial scams.”

Together with the financial industry, Bank Negara will continue to ensure that banking and payment channels remain secure and equipped with the latest security controls, she said.

Acknowledging that criminal tactics change all the time, she said that Bank Negara continuously intensifies deterrent efforts and introduces additional controls as well as safeguards and collaborates with other stakeholders to keep ahead of scammers.

These include rolling out preventive measures, pursuing more effective and coordinated enforcement actions, and raising public awareness.

“The effort to eradicate financial scams requires cooperation and concerted action from all parties – not just from Bank Negara and the financial industry, but also from law enforcement agencies and relevant ministries and agencies, as well as the public,” she added.

Bank Negara, together with the police, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, will work together to further elevate the Commercial Crime Investigation Department’s Scam Response Centre into a more systematic information-sharing platform that will enable quicker action to prevent further losses.

Nor Shamsiah said the cooperation of law enforcement agencies is key, especially in sharing information and intelligence.

The public also has a role to play in protecting themselves by making sure to be aware of scams.

“An important aspect of dealing with financial scams is raising public awareness about tactics used by criminals and the steps that the public can take to avoid becoming victims.

“In this regard, Bank Negara, the financial industry and law enforcement agencies will continue efforts to enhance the effectiveness of awareness programmes and improve on the dissemination of information to the public,” she said.

The virtual Financial Crime Exhibition launched yesterday is an example of such efforts as it seeks to educate the public about financial scams. It can be viewed at bit.ly/bnm_crime. 

By FARIK ZOLKEPLI and RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM    

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PUTTING THE BRAKES ON CYBERCRIME - PDRM

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While 60% of the country’s population are Malays, non-Malays find the narratives of race and religion outdated and reflecting poorly on political leadership

  Malaysians now looking for a new narrative of diversity and inclusiveness, not just Malay unity

No easy battle ahead for Pejuang

IT looks certain that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic), who now heads the Pejuang party, will defend his Langkawi parliamentary seat in the impending general election.

The former prime minister, who turns 98 next year, does not have much choice as he is the only candidate from his party who has a realistic chance of winning.

Although he has announced that his newly-formed movement Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA), led by Pejuang, will be contesting in 120 seats, he should not be too ambitious.

In the Johor state election in March, all 42 Pejuang candidates lost their deposits.

In GE15, the field is expected to be crowded with Opposition parties, which will not be helpful to his coalition of Muslim-Malay political parties and non-governmental organisations.

Most of the coalition leaders are has-beens and unknowns while even the electorate still has no idea what Pejuang – or the coalition – really stands for.

That, however, has not stopped Dr Mahathir, who was twice PM, from saying he “would reluctantly accept the responsibility of leading the government for a third time if needed”.

The Malay Mail reported him as saying at a GTA forum at the Bangi Convention Centre last week that “he would prefer a less taxing role, one that would allow him to advise or be an expert consultant to the prime minister”. But he was quick to add: “If the insistence were to be incessant, I would find it hard to only think about myself.”

“So, if the insistence is there, I will accept,” he said when asked about his willingness to assume the mantle for a third time.

“However, it cannot be for the full term,” he told the audience in Bangi. “Maybe just for a year.”

With due respect to Dr Mahathir, a seasoned political player, he may have been trying to boost the confidence of his audience ahead of the polls.

Heading a fledgling political party and a hurriedly put-up coalition, Dr Mahathir would surely want to instil hope and belief that victory is possible and that he can become a PM for a record third time.

Dr Mahathir may be good at setting records, but it would not be wrong to suggest that most Malaysians do not share his enthusiasm. In fact, we are quite horrified at the thought.

His political detractors, especially those in Umno, would want him stopped as Pejuang’s entry could split the Malay voters.

The same sentiment is shared by Perikatan Nasional led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

While Dr Mahathir’s coalition talks of uniting the Malays and Muslims, the other two similar coalitions think it will be the other way around.

He has no friends in the Opposition either. Prior to his resignation as prime minister in 2020, Dr Mahathir had been meant to pass the post to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but he never did so, claiming there was no formal agreement setting a deadline for him to do so.

Dr Mahathir is still respected by non-Malays for his two decades as PM but that admiration took a huge dent after the collapse of the 22-month old Pakatan Harapan government. He has been blamed for the downfall as he quit as PM.

Worse, his occasional racist remarks have alienated many non-Malays.

While 60% of the country’s population are Malays, non-Malays find such narratives of race and religion outdated and reflecting poorly on political leadership.

Political leaders around the world have become younger – many are even in their 30s and 40s – and voters are looking for new ideas and a better Malaysia.

But Dr Mahathir still talked of race, saying at the Bangi convention that “he only wished to see his vision for the Malay community come to pass under a caring and trustworthy government”.

At 97, it is very hard for Dr Mahathir to change his beliefs.

His legacy is already ruined, but he can earn a last round of respect if he talks of bringing Malaysians together.

It is unfortunate that as the nation celebrates 65 years of independence, our political leaders still want to harp on Muslims and Malays as if other Malaysians, including the large non-Muslim bumiputra population in Sabah and Sarawak, do not exist at all.

The Chinese population may be declining but it remains an important 25% and playing a crucial role in Malaysia’s economy. The same goes for the Indians.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s “Keluarga Malaysia” campaign may be seen by some as mere political rhetoric, but it resonates with the call for diversity and inclusiveness.

Dr Mahathir’s problem is that he cannot let go. In March, he “confirmed” that he would not defend Langkawi due to health reasons but in June, he changed his mind, saying he “may” defend his seat if no suitable candidate is found.

Now, it is almost sure he will be a candidate.

Dr Mahathir deserves a rest from politics. He was discharged from hospital early this month after a bout of Covid-19 and in February, he had to undergo a procedure for a heart problem.

Seriously, he needs to know when to exit the stage. No one is indispensable and there is nothing worse than old scripts and sequels. It really turns off the audience.

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