Jakarta (ANTARA) – Today, March 4, is the commemoration of World Obesity Day. Obesity cases are increasing, including in Indonesia. Thus, it is important for people to identify triggers and how to deal with them.
Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Endocrinology (PERKENI), Prof. Dr. dr. Ketut Suastika, Sp.PD-KEMD said that obesity must be understood as a chronic disease that is complex, progressive, and can recur.
“Thinking that obesity is the result of individual error because of too much intake and lack of exercise is a common mistake,” said Prof. Suastika, through a statement received by ANTARA on Thursday.
“In fact, obesity is excess body weight caused by various genetic, psychological, socio-cultural, economic and environmental factors,” he added.
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Prof. Suastika continued, once a person is obese, this condition will be a long, even lifelong problem, and a return of weight gain is common.
Add, the Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Clinical Nutritionists Prof. Dr. dr. Nurpudji Taslim, Sp.GK (K), MPH also explained about the increased consumption of processed food, which plays a major role in increasing unhealthy intake that enters the body.
“Processed foods such as instant noodles and fried snacks are usually affordable, easy to find, and highly promoted, even though such foods are not healthy because they are high in calories and have low nutrition,” said Prof. Nurpudji.
“Unfortunately, more than 60 percent of adults consume instant noodles and fried snacks every week. Children generally also eat less healthy food than they need, and they eat more of the unhealthy food they should. avoid, “he added.
Disease triggers
Prof. Suastika emphasized that chronic diseases are usually associated with obesity.
Obesity alone has been linked to nearly 200 diseases, some of which can be life-threatening, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
According to data in 2016 in Indonesia, it shows that more than 5 million people with diabetes and 11 million people with hypertension are also overweight or obese.
Prof. Nurpudji also added that obesity is one of the biggest risks for the severity of COVID-19.
“The condition of obesity plus exposure to COVID-19 will put a person at 113 percent higher risk of being hospitalized, 74 percent higher to have to undergo ICU treatment, and 48 percent higher risk of death,” he explained.
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Not only has an impact on individual health, the increase in obesity cases nationally also has an impact on the economy and financial risks which are increasingly expensive for the country.
With more than 800 million people worldwide who are obese, the medical consequences of obesity will reach more than 1 trillion US dollars by 2025.
Regarding the worrying economic impact of obesity, the Ministry of Health said obesity reduces productive life by 6-10 years.
“Obesity also takes up 8-16 percent of the national health budget. In 2016, the total impact (direct and indirect) of obesity is estimated at US $ 2-4 billion,” said dr. Cut Putri Arianie, MHKes., Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia.
Handling
Regarding handling, Prof. Suastika explained that like other chronic diseases, there is no easy solution to treating obesity.
This is because obesity is a multifactorial disease that requires a multi-faceted approach, including regulating nutrition, physical activity, psychological intervention, as well as drugs or surgery if needed.
“We must move forward from a simple initial approach such as ‘reduce intake and move more’. We must address the main causes of obesity,” said the Chancellor of Udayana University Bali for the 2013-2017 period.
Discussing further about a comprehensive solution to dealing with obesity, Prof. Suastika reminded that programs with large-scale community interventions that involve the government, health practitioners, the media and the public are needed.
“Our focus should be to establish obesity as a serious chronic disease on the national health agenda and promote education on healthy lifestyles, including in schools,” he explained.
Prof. Nurpudji added, changing a lifestyle to be healthier is the main key to treating obese people.
“Lifestyle modification is the basis of the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity. Someone with an obese condition (BMI> 25) should immediately seek professional help for intervention according to their condition,” said Prof. Nurpudji.
“Obesity can be prevented by having a balanced healthy diet, exercising at least 150 minutes per week, and monitoring BMI regularly,” he added.
The government through the Indonesian Ministry of Health has also developed Integrated Guidance Posts (Posbindu) in the community to provide education about healthy living habits, namely “CERDIK”.
“CERDIK” itself includes: routine health checks, get rid of cigarette smoke, be diligent in physical activity, healthy and balanced diet, adequate rest, and manage stress.
There is also the “Healthy Living Community Movement” (GERMAS) which the government has been aggressively promoting for a healthier Indonesian society.
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By Arnidhya Nur Zhafira
Editor: Maria Rosari Dwi Putri
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