The latest National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2024 offers a sobering snapshot of how we eat and live today.

More than half of Malaysian adults are overweight or obese. Three in four consume too much salt. Almost nine in ten fall short of the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. And while 28% of children struggle with obesity, 8.1% still face nutrient deficiencies that stunt their growth.

It’s a striking paradox, a country surrounded by food, yet quietly malnourished.

Fast lives, Faster food

What these numbers really reveal is not just what we eat, but how modern life has reshaped our relationship with food. Long hours, the city’s always present traffic jams, endless to-do lists, they all push us toward what is easy, not necessarily what is right. About six in ten adults drink sugary beverages daily. Late-night meals, often blamed on dining out, are mostly eaten at home. Convenience has become the backbone of our diets. And yet, convenience does not have to mean compromise.

At Tuulyn, a modern Malaysian-European grocery store brand, we believe convenience should not come at the cost of well-being. Food made for modern life should be both practical and purposeful, designed to fit real schedules while supporting real nourishment.

Nasi Lemak with Tuulyn’s Lemongrass Marinated Whole Chicken Leg

Nutrition Gaps Begin at Home

The NHMS found that most late-night heavy meals are home-prepared. This matters because it shows that our eating patterns, not restaurants, are shaping national health outcomes. If change is to happen, it must begin in the household, where daily food decisions are made.

By rethinking what convenience looks like at home, choosing meals that nourish rather than simply fill, we can turn better eating into an everyday habit.

Homemade Burger using Tuulyn’s RTC Classic Beef Patty with Sweet Potato Wedges

We are missing the basics

Only 12.2% of adults in Malaysia eat enough vegetables, and just 17.1% consume two servings of fruit daily. Widespread deficiencies in Vitamin A, C, D, calcium, and iron point to a pattern: we’re eating more but absorbing less of what matters.

We have to bring balance back to the table by crafting food that comforts yet sustains, where nutrition and taste coexist naturally. Healthy food shouldn’t feel like a restriction; it should feel like care.

The Recommended Food Intake vs The Reality

Healthy must stop meaning “hard”

Affordability was not a focus of the NHMS, but it is central to the conversation. For many families, fresh and balanced options still feel out of reach. What’s cheap is rarely nutritious, and what’s nutritious often feels unattainable. If Malaysia wants to close its nutrition gap, we must redefine what “healthy” looks like in everyday life. It has to be accessible, intuitive, and affordable, not an aspiration, but an option within reach.

That is the space Tuulyn wants to fill: creating food that fits local tastes and routines, but with the right nutrients quietly built in. When better choices become natural, nutrition stops feeling like effort and starts feeling like life.

A Culture of Care

Behind every statistic is a story: the student relying on instant noodles, the parent skipping meals, the senior living alone. Fixing Malaysia’s nutrition crisis is not only about reforming diets, but it is also about reintroducing care into how we feed ourselves and each other.

Tuulyn was born from that belief. Food is not just sustenance; it’s connection, empathy, and culture. When prepared with thought and intention, even the simplest meal becomes nourishment in every sense of the word.

Malaysian Modern Meals and Moments

Malaysian Modern Meals and Moments

Malaysia does not lack food. What we lack is balance, and perhaps, awareness. But balance can be rebuilt, one plate, one choice, one home at a time. If we make nourishment part of everyday life, perhaps the next health report will tell a different story: one where Malaysians eat not just to survive, but to thrive.

Join the conversation with Tuulyn now at www.tuulyn.com or visit our growing number of stores in the Klang Valley for convenience, freshness and everyday value.