The government is concerned with the increase of individuals deemed obese because the health implications associated with weight problems would be a burden on the stateâs fiscal ability
he government is concerned with the increase ofindividuals deemed obese because the health implications associated with weightproblems would be a burden on the state's fiscal ability.
'In my opinion, obesity among urban residents is a problem,' said Bambang Sardjono, a Health Ministry expert on institutional capacity building and regional autonomy, said after opening a seminar on nutrition at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Saturday.
Bambang said obesity resulted from financial developments and the number of overweight residents had exceeded those deemed malnourished.
'Based on the 2012 Basic Health Research, only 11.6
percent of the population aged above 19 years old were malnourished
while 22.8 percent were obese,' the told the seminar that commemorated the 50th
anniversary of the university's agriculture engineering faculty.
The phenomenon was not limited to Indonesia but a worldwide problem, he added.
Bambang said obesity caused various non-communicable diseases such as heart issues, diabetes and high cholesterol.
'[If we do not prevent this situation] health issues caused by obesity will burden the state budget,' he said
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