90% seated toilets in three years.

National health policy goal to fight arthritis with Western seated toilets replacing old-style squat toilets.

A child sits on a squat toilet at Wat Klong Toey Nai. The Public Health Ministry aims to promote Western-style seated toilets nationwide to minimise degenerative joint disease. The proposal will be tabled to the cabinet meeting today. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASILL

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HEALTH

Ministry to flush out squat loos, push for public to take a seat

19 Feb 2013
Paritta Wangkiat

The Public Health Ministry wants to put the comfort back into comfort breaks by encouraging households nationwide to sit rather than squat.

The push is aimed at reducing degenerative joint disease, which the ministry says can be caused by routinely using squat toilets.

Most Thai households currently use squat toilets, but the ministry wants them flushed out within three years and replaced with Western-style seated ones.

Deputy Public Health Minister Chonlanan Srikaew said the ministry will pass its motion to the cabinet for consideration today.

The masterplan, which will be considered a national agenda item, calls for all households to use sitting toilets by 2016 to reduce the risk of degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis.

Dr Chonlanan said the use of squat toilets puts pressure on the knees, which can lead to osteoarthritis.

The ministry says about 6 million Thais suffer from osteoarthritis, most of whom are over 60 years old. However, there is a rising trend of people aged between 45 and 60 suffering from the same disease.

Contributing factors include obesity, accidents and possibly damaging postures such as squatting and sitting with crossed legs.

A public health survey last year found 86% of Thai households use squat toilets, 10% use sitting toilets and 3.1% have both, Dr Chonlanan said.

The Department of Health plans to encourage 50% of households to switch to sitting toilets by the end of this year. It wants this figure to rise to 75% by next year and 100% by 2016.

The ministry also plans to achieve a 90% sitting-toilet rate in public toilets, including those located at hospitals, public health offices and petrol stations within three years.

(Source: Bangkok Post, HEALTH, Ministry to flush out squat loos, push for public to take a seat, 19 Feb 2013, Paritta Wangkiat, link) 


Toilet Technology Vocabulary

toilet - ห้องน้ำ,  ห้องสุขา, ห้องส้วม water closet, lavatory, washroom, restroom (See Wikipedia)
public toilets - toilets that every person can use (in a government building or office building or shopping center, for example)
loo - (UK slang) Same as "toilet"

squat - to bend your knees and lower back end or "butt" to the ground; crouch นั่งยองๆ
squat toilet - the kind of toilet that you must squat to use, not sit, commonly found in Asia (See Wikipedia)

Western-style seated toilets

the West (noun) - Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc ประเทศทางทวีปยุโรปและอเมริกา, ประเทศทางตะวันตก
Western (adjective) - ซึ่งมาจากทิศตะวันตก
Western-style

human defecation postures - the way a person positions their body when they are going to the bathroom (See Wikipedia)
defecation - going to the bathroom; the process of getting rid of solid waste through your body through your anus in the back of your body

posture - the position of your body (when you sit, stand, walk or squat)  ท่าทาง,  แสดงท่า,  วางท่า
possibly damaging postures

joint - a part of the body where two bones meet (knees, shoulder, wrist, elbow, etc) ข้อต่อ (กระดูก) (See Wikipedia)

inflammation -  the swelling, redness and pain that happens after an injury to the body: "a local response to cellular injury that is marked by capillary dilatation, leukocytic infiltration, redness, heat, and pain and that serves as a mechanism initiating the elimination of noxious agents and of damaged tissue" (See Wikipedia & Webster's Dictionary)

arthritis - inflammation of the joints โรคปวดข้อ (See Wikipedia)
osteoarthritis - when your joints grow weak over time from overuse or using them in the wrong way: "arthritis marked by degeneration of the cartilage and bone of joints" (See Wikipedia)
degenerative joint disease - Same as "osteoarthritis"

nationwide - throughout a whole country ทั่วทั้งประเทศ  ทั่วประเทศ
promote nationwide

minimise - to reduce something harmful or unpleasant to the smallest amount or degree ลดจำนวนลง  ลดให้เหลือน้อยที่สุด
minimise degenerative joint disease

The Public Health Ministry aims to promote Western-style seated toilets nationwide to minimise degenerative joint disease.

proposal - a plan or suggestion for a group to consider ข้อเสนอ
table a proposal  - to give a proposal to a group of people who will decide to accept or reject the proposal
the proposal will be tabled

meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
cabinet meeting

The proposal will be tabled to the cabinet meeting today

flush toilet - make water pass through a toilet bowl to clean it

flush out - to remove something (get rid of, eliminate) 
take a seat - to sit down

push for - to try to make something happen (or make people do something you want them to do)
push for public to take a seat

Ministry to flush out squat loos, push for public to take a seat

comfort - feeling good, relaxed without worry, pain or unpleasant feeling 
break - a time when you stop your work and rest for a short time
comfort break - a time when you stop working so you can feel good for a time 

put X back into Y - Y lost X, so you return the X to Y
put the comfort back into comfort breaks

households - families or groups of people living together (economics treats this as a unit that makes decisions)
households nationwide

encourage - make people interested in and excited about doing an activity ปลุกใจ
encourage households nationwide to sit rather than squat

ministry - a government department dealing with an area of activity กระทรวง

routinely - done as a normal part of the job or process
routinely using squat toilets

The push is aimed at reducing degenerative joint disease, which the ministry says can be caused by routinely using squat toilets.

Western-style seated ones - meaning: Western-style seated toilets
Most Thai households currently use squat toilets, but the ministry wants them flushed out within three years and replaced with Western-style seated ones.

consideration - to go over details before deciding to do a project; giving careful thought to something before making a decision
the ministry will pass its motion to the cabinet for consideration today.

agenda - list of goals to achieve in the future
national agenda - the list of goals for the whole country
a national agenda item - one item on the list of goals for the whole country

risk - danger, how likely or possible it is for a bad event that causes harm and damage ความเสี่ยง
reduce the risk of degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis.

The masterplan, which will be considered a national agenda item, calls for all households to use sitting toilets by 2016 to reduce the risk of degenerative joint disease, or osteoarthritis.

pressure - stress,  a force ความกดดัน
put pressure on

put pressure on the knees
the use of squat toilets puts pressure on the knees, which can lead to osteoarthritis.

suffer - to experience physical or mental pain

The ministry says about 6 million Thais suffer from osteoarthritis, most of whom are over 60 years old.

suffering - physical or mental pain or problems ความทุกข์ทรมาน
suffering from a disease

trend - a gradual change or development that produces a particular result ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
a rising trend

there is a rising trend of people aged between 45 and 60 suffering from the same disease.

obesity - when a person is too fat for their health
sitting with crossed legs - (See Wikipedia)

factors - one of the things that effects a situation or event ปัจจัย
contributing factors

Contributing factors include obesity, accidents and possibly damaging postures such as squatting and sitting with crossed legs.

survey - gathering information about what people think about different subjects (public opionion) by asking large numbers of people questions and counting their answers, and then using statistics, graphs, and tables to present results (See Wikipedia) การสำรวจความเห็น
public health survey

A public health survey last year found 86% of Thai households use squat toilets, 10% use sitting toilets and 3.1% have both

switch - to change เปลี่ยน
switch to sitting toilets

The Department of Health plans to encourage 50% of households to switch to sitting toilets by the end of this year.

figure - an amount  จำนวน
It wants this figure to rise to 75% by next year and 100% by 2016.

rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
90% sitting-toilet rate in public toilets

The ministry also plans to achieve a 90% sitting-toilet rate in public toilets, including those located at hospitals, public health offices and petrol stations within three years.