They danced, twirled and gyrated to the music of Cardi B and Guns N’ Roses in the Slim Fit Studio. As everyone’s arms moved up and down and their feet shuffled forward, coach R Niken Ayu Larasati shouted “1-2-3.” For these two dozen women, exercise is part of daily life, but for many of them, that wasn’t always the case.
Yuliana, 29, is 150 centimeters tall and weighs 110 kilograms. Like many Indonesians, her name has only one character. “I wasn’t getting enough exercise and I wasn’t eating healthy,” Yuliana said.
Her story is all too common in this country. Nearly half of Indonesian women are overweight or obese, nearly twice as many as men, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health. March 4 is World Obesity Day, and many health advocacy groups are trying to raise awareness of the issue.
Diah Saminarsih, CEO of the Center for Strategic Development Initiatives in Indonesia, said: “We found that obesity rates are rising among men and women of all ages in Indonesia, which is very worrying, but the trend among adult women is particularly concerning. People are uneasy.” , an NGO that focuses on health issues.
“As a result, we are seeing more and more people suffering from chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney failure and diabetes,” she noted.
Saminarsih and other health advocates say it’s unclear why Indonesian women have significantly higher rates of the disease than men, but one factor may be that women still play traditional roles in many Indonesian families.
“They cook, feed the kids, then stay home or pick up the kids from school, and work in between. So they play multiple roles in society. Maybe they socialize more than men, and when you socialize more, you will consume more [food]”, said Saminarsih, adding that more research is needed to fully elucidate the underlying causes.
Across the country, Samminarsi said in recent years, unhealthy food has become increasingly available to households, whether at fast food restaurants or in the sugary drinks on store shelves.
“In the past, many Indonesians could not afford unhealthy food because it was imported,” Saminasi said. “But now a lot of it is produced locally, so prices have come down and now these fatty, sugary, high-calorie foods are cheaper than healthy foods.”
David Koloza, nutrition specialist at UNICEF Indonesia, also noted that as many families move from rural areas to urban areas, they tend to work in less physically active jobs.
“More and more people are working in office jobs or manufacturing jobs rather than working in the fields,” Koloza said, adding that easy access to ultra-processed foods rich in sugar, fat and salt is also a factor. .
“In some communities, these ultra-processed foods are the most accessible and more readily available than healthy foods like fruits and vegetables,” Coloza said. “Cities such as Jakarta also have high levels of air pollution [Indonesia’s capital] It will prevent people from going out and exercising. “
But health advocates say there are encouraging signs as more fitness centers open and health education improves. “More and more people seem to understand the benefits of exercise, and we are seeing committed health advocates spreading their message to communities across Indonesia,” Saminarsih said.
In addition, health advocates are pushing for further steps, including regulations requiring more prominent labels on packaging to more clearly indicate which foods are unhealthy and taxes on sugary drinks.
“This may reduce consumers’ incentives to purchase these products and encourage food and beverage companies to reformulate these products to reduce sugar content,” Coloza said. “In addition, ideally, funds collected from the tax would be used for health-related initiatives such as obesity prevention.”
At Slim Fit Studio, Juliana dances on the floor with others. Since November, she has lost 7 kilograms. Juliana said that in addition to exercising four times a week, she also eats healthier foods. Health advocates hope more overweight and obese Indonesians will adopt this lifestyle change.
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