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Indonesia aims to bring obesity rate below 3 percent by 2030
The Health Ministry recorded a rise in the obesity rate as a proportion of the population from 2013 to 2018, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said on Monday.
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Midwife Nurul Indawati (left) measures the weight of a child in Nampu village, Jombang, East Java, with the help of fellow midwife Rurita in 2016. (Antara/Syaiful Arif)
T
he government is ramping up its efforts to bring the rising obesity rate below 3 percent by 2030 by focusing on improving public health education and monitoring processed foods.
The Health Ministry recorded a rise in the obesity rate as a proportion of the population from 2013 to 2018, Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said on Monday.
The ministry’s 2013 Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) found that the country’s overall obesity prevalence was 15.3 percent. The figure jumped to 21.8 percent in the 2018 survey.
No more recent data was immediately available, but Dante estimated that the rate likely stood around 21 percent this year. The ministry wants to bring that figure down to 3 percent by 2030, meaning it must come down some 3 to 4 percentage points annually.
“That will be a big ask,” Dante said at Forum Merdeka Barat 9, a government-sponsored media gathering.
Read also: Obesity continues to haunt Indonesia despite campaign
To reach the 2030 target, the government is focusing public awareness campaigns in schools and health centers to educate families about good nutrition, especially for children. The campaigns seek not only to help lower the diabetes and obesity rates but also limit stunting, another long-standing health issue in the country.
