LETTER | Leave no one behind. That is our promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals and our government has been working hard to decrease the inequalities and vulnerabilities that leave people behind.

Unfortunately, we still have a significant number of people, mainly from the lower-income group, struggling to achieve socioeconomic and health equality. Socio-economic problems, and health and food insecurity are reported to be the main problems among the low-income group and amidst the pandemic, women and children, especially from the lower-income group who are the most negatively affected, require urgent attention.

Non-communicable diseases and malnutrition are some of the few health threats reported among women from the B40 group and these problems seem to be persistent among them. Studies have reported that the impact of diabetes is greater in females than in males with a worse outcome. Women with diabetes have a higher risk of heart diseases and earlier incidents of heart attack which can be fatal when compared to men.

Healthy habits are the most effective way to combat them, but, sadly, in the chaos of a woman's daily life, healthy living may take the back seat to chores, work, busy schedules, and more. To make matters worse, with the rising number of cases and the implementation of the movement control order again, these already vulnerable groups, are facing another period of social and economic uncertainties.

Why are we targetting women? Simply because women are responsible for producing and preparing food for their family and household; therefore, their knowledge or lack of it can create issues not only on womens own health but also on the health of the family members.

Ensuring the correct nutritional status is vital, especially now when we need our immune system to fight the disease.

Healthy habit is a combination of healthy eating, being physically active, avoiding smoking and limiting alcohol consumption. For more information, we suggest you see your physician and the dietitian. Some steps to overcome the barriers women face to live healthily include:

Adequate knowledge on healthy lifestyle is important for women not only because it helps them to be productive members of society but also because of the direct effect on their family members and the next generation.

Our low-income families are at risk of poor nutrition and unhealthy lifestyle with the ongoing lockdown; therefore, empowering and educating them can create an environment that benefits everyone.

Nothing must be done separately; make healthy choices for the whole family. In addition, do not be afraid to seek help if it is needed. This lockdown will leave some impact on our community and all these efforts will have a greater health impact if it comes from us ourselves.

DR KALAASHINI RAMACHANDRAN is with the Department of Public Health University of Malaya Medical Council and DR HAZREEN ABDUL MAJID isHead of Centre for Population Health, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Universiti Malaya.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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LETTER | Encouraging women in lower-income group to live healthy amidst pandemic - Malaysiakini