Jakarta (VNA) - 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, the Jakarta Post reported.
According to the Indonesian Health Ministry, one in five children aged 5-12 in the country is overweight or obese. A recent UNICEF report titled “Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children” found that the proportion of overweight children and adolescents aged 5-19 in Indonesia at least tripled between 2000 and 2022.
The UNICEF highlighted 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. 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 Health Ministry’s 2023 national health survey, which polled nearly 1.2 million respondents nationwide, found that most children aged 3-9 consumed sugary foods and drinks more than once a day, while older groups consumed them one to six times per week.
Childhood obesity is most prevalent in urban areas, where ultra-processed foods are readily available and children have fewer opportunities for physical activities because of shrinking open spaces.
Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said last week that taxing sugary foods and beverages was necessary to tackle obesity, and the government was preparing for the regulation./.
Nearly 1,000 suspected food poisoning cases in Indonesia
Medical teams are treating 115 residents who suffered from suspected food poisoning after consuming meals served at a childbirth gratitude gathering in Pakenjeng Sub-district, Garut district, West Java.
