Introduction: The obesity rate in Malaysia is increasing exponentially. This is alarming as obesity in a population is likely to lead to health complications and negatively impact national economic productivity. The quality of health of our country is of paramount importance to a sustainable nation. To safeguard the health of our population in this country, there are current laws and potential laws to be implemented to combat obesity. In Malaysia, the government have introduced ‘soft policies’ approach such as Healthy life style programmes and campaigns as means to curb obesity yet its impact is questionable. ‘Hard policies’, such as regulations (e.g. imposing a tax, removal of subsidies, reduction of operational hours of eateries, menu-labelling, curbing of marketing of unhealthy food, implementation of pedestrian and bicycle paths, metabo laws) may be used as legitimate interventions to combat obesity in Malaysia. The aims of this paper is to (i) analyse the legal justifications for implementation of obesity prevention regulations, (ii) to compare and contrast the pros and cons of current and potential obesity prevention regulations to reduce obesity. Results and Conclusion: The law could be used to facilitate promotion of public health. In light of new scientific advances, gaps in the current regulatory framework, and the increasingly obesogenic environment, this paper proposes
potential legal approaches to address obesity in Malaysia. It is important for legal scholars to devise innovative strategies to address obesity from new perspectives. The great potential for the law to rectify the status quo has yet to be fully explored. With reduction of obesity, the fiscal burden of the nation on medical bills could be reduced and productivity could be increased.