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Unhealthy lifestyles give rise to new killer diseases
The unhealthy lifestyles of a growing number of Indonesians, coupled with poor awareness in monitoring their health have resulted in a creeping wave of degenerative diseases in the country
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he unhealthy lifestyles of a growing number of Indonesians, coupled with poor awareness in monitoring their health have resulted in a creeping wave of degenerative diseases in the country.
“It’s time for us to combat non-communicable diseases due to the fact they severely affect public health by increasing mortality rates and causing disabilities,” Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said.
A 2007 Basic Health Study (Riskesdas 2007) said cardiovascular diseases and diabetes were among major causes of death in the country.
The study, updated last year, found that smoking-related diseases were also another major health challenge, with 28.2 percent of Indonesian aged 15 and older puffing away. Indonesians start smoking at an average age of 17.6 years old.
Endang admitted the government had focused most attention on combating infectious diseases and had neglected the potential dangers of non-contagious diseases, which contribute to millions of preventable deaths each year.
As a developing country, the government’s main concern is eradicating communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Non-communicable disease that result from risk factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, genetics and the environment, however, have become more widespread as more Indonesians turn to fat- and sugar-rich Western diets and adopt more sedentary lifestyles.
Physician and public health analyst Kartono Muhamad said Thursday the government had not focused on non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and asthma.
“Indonesia has a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases,” he told The Jakarta Post via telephone, adding that 54 percent of all deaths in the country last year were from non-communicable diseases, higher than the number of deaths resulted from infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Non-communicable diseases are also taking a heavy toll on the country’s economy.
Kartono said most non-communicable diseases were actually preventable, adding that stroke, heart disease, cancer and diabetes could be avoided by exercising regularly and not consuming tobacco and alcohol.
Unfortunately, the government was not addressing these killer diseases, instead it glossed over the situation by, for example, prioritizing medical treatment rather than prevention, he added.
“We cannot combat these diseases by merely asking people to stop smoking and drinking alcohol. It’s not enough,” Kartono said.
Smoking is a key cause of heart disease and stroke, yet the government has taken no steps to reduce tobacco use by imposing higher taxes on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco.
“By promote healthy living, we can control the spread of non-communicable diseases,” he said.
The head of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), Prijo Sidipratomo, said Thursday the government should prioritize prevention efforts to combat non-communicable diseases by providing urgent medical services.
He said that, for example, the government should assist low-income residents get access to certain cancer vaccines. Many poor people cannot afford cervical cancer vaccines, which cost up to Rp 500,000 (US$55.5) per shot. (ebf)
