JAKARTA: A surge in childhood obesity across Indonesia is raising the alarm, with experts warning that the country’s children face a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and other life-threatening illnesses as junk food replaces healthier diets.
About one in five children aged five to 12 in the country is overweight or obese, according to Health Ministry data.
Under World Health Organization standards, a body mass index (BMI, the ratio of weight to height) above 30 is classified as obese, while 25 to 29 is overweight. Both conditions generally stem from an imbalance between calorie intake and physical activity.
A recent United Children’s Fund (Unicef) report titled Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children found that the proportion of overweight children and adolescents aged five to 19 in Indonesia at least tripled between 2000 and 2022.
Unicef executive director Catherine Russell attributed the trend to the growing availability of ultra-processed food, which she said was replacing fruits, vegetables and protein at a stage when proper nutrition is crucial for children’s growth, cognitive development and mental health.
The agency stressed that obesity increases the risk of insulin resistance and high blood pressure, while raising the likelihood of life-threatening illnesses later in life, including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
“The report warns that ultra-processed and fast foods–high in sugar, refined starch, salt, unhealthy fats and additives–are shaping children’s diets through unhealthy food environments, rather than personal choice,” Unicef said in a Sept 9 release.
“These products dominate shops and schools, while digital marketing gives the food and beverage industry powerful access to young audiences,” it added.
Hardinsyah, a nutrition expert at IPB University in Bogor, West Java, warned that consuming large amounts of sugar could cause excessive weight gain because of the extra calories it contains.
“If these surpluses are not burned off through physical activity, they are stored as fat and can lead to obesity,” he said on Thursday (Sept 18).
The Health Ministry’s 2023 national health survey (SKI), which polled nearly 1.2 million respondents nationwide, found that most children aged three to nine consumed sugary foods and drinks more than once a day, while older groups consumed them one to six times per week.
“The body certainly needs sugar. But it should be limited,” Hardinsyah added.
Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said last week that taxing sugary foods and beverages was necessary to tackle obesity, and revealed the government was preparing for the regulation.
In June, however, the Finance Ministry’s Customs and Excise Directorate announced it would postpone the long-planned sugary drinks excise, citing efforts to maximise revenue from existing sources amid declining tax collection this year.
Childhood obesity is most prevalent in urban areas, where ultra-processed foods are readily available and children have fewer opportunities for physical activity because of shrinking open spaces.
Jakarta, for instance, has one of the highest obesity rates in the country, with nearly double the national average among children aged 5 to 12.
Nutritionist Tan Shot Yen stressed that ultra-processed foods were a major trigger of obesity and nutritional problems in children’s growth, which in turn increases the risk of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome.
“These products are easily available, practical and inexpensive, deliberately designed to create addiction and often target middle- and low-income households,” she said on Thursday.
Yet many parents remain unaware of the dangers. Instant noodles, frozen meals and sugary drinks are often chosen for convenience, regardless of their unhealthy levels of sugar, fat and salt.
“Sometimes we just need easy meals to make, like instant noodles. We don’t really mind the food labels”, Sutrismo, a father of two, told The Jakarta Post from Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta.
A recent Health Ministry survey found that nearly half of Indonesians admitted they were unaware of the risks posed by the unhealthy foods they regularly consumed. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
