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Child obesity a growing problem in Indonesia
Isn’t it inevitable that a life of excess brings with it big problems? Children suffering from obesity are proof that life may not be easier for those carrying around extra weight
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sn’t it inevitable that a life of excess brings with it big problems? Children suffering from obesity are proof that life may not be easier for those carrying around extra weight.
Ade Saputra, 12, from Bogor, West Java, said he was often teased by his friends because of his size.
“They call me fat boy, it makes me feel ashamed,” Ade told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Ade, a junior high student, weighs 72 kilograms and is 146 centimeters tall.
He also suffers from poor health, with breathing difficulties after light exercise. Whenever children have problems, the parents are left to take care of the mess.
Ade’s mother, Haronsyah, said she had to pay attention to her youngest son’s diet.
“Ade eats junk food only once a week. I am trying to reduce his meals,” the mother of three, said.
Before, Ade enjoyed having to sugar-rich bottled tea and greasy snacks such as fish balls. He said he used to drink two glasses of full cream milk a day before it was substituted by low-fat milk, following a suggestion by his nutritionist, a decision that also required the family to spend more.
Ade’s problem is typical of thousands of cases of child obesity in Indonesia. Obesity among children in Indonesia has doubled in the last decade.
The Health Ministry says that in 2007, the prevalence of obesity among children between the age of six and 14 was 9.5 percent among boys and 6.4 percent among girls. These figures are much higher than the 4 percent recorded in 1990.
Even though the number of obese children has been increasing at alarming rates, the government and the public remain unaware of the severity of the problem.
Parental ignorance is also worsening the issue.
Pediatrician Aman B. Pulungan said that sometimes parents were clueless about obesity and their children.
“They come to us with other complaints such as hypertension or respiratory problems, without realizing that those all stem from obesity,” he said, adding that if not addressed, obese children could develop serious diseases such as diabetes.
Obese children may also bring another burden for parents.
“They need special diets with much more expensive food. They also need frequent consultation with doctors,” Haronsyah said, adding that she spent between Rp 250,000 (US$27.75) and Rp 500,000 a month on doctor visits alone.
However, some parents take the issue lightly, including the parents of Albert Riantho Salim, 13, who now weighs 97 kilograms and is 165 centimeters tall.
“Albert loves to eat chocolate bars, and ice cream after his meals. It’s a hobby,” his mother, Rina Sujanto, said while showing off her refrigerator, stocked full of ice cream and other sweet desserts. “If he wants to lose weight, he will diet on his own when he meets girls during puberty,” she said. (not)
