Dangers Of Health-threatening Obesity, Here's How To Prevent It

JAKARTA - Obesity not only disturbs appearance, but also becomes a serious health problem. Obesity is not just an excess weight problem.

This disease is a complex condition related to various health risk factors, including high blood pressure, fat metabolic disorders, to heart disease and diabetes.

Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, M. Epid, Director of Disease Prevention and Control of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, emphasized that obesity is a serious problem that is slowly developing and has a broad impact on public health.

This was revealed by Siti Nadia in the event 'Understanding Safe Food Additional Materials In Packaging Foods to Prevent Obesity' organized by Nutri Food with the Indonesian Ministry of Health and BPOM.

"Actually, it's not a lot of fat, but a risk factor. Apart from being fat, obesity can also lurk various diseases. It's not contagious, but it's related to body defense," said Dr. Nadia, when met in the Melawai area, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

This means that obesity is not a disease that can spread from one individual to another such as infection, but is more influenced by lifestyle and environment.

Unhealthy eating behavior, lack of physical activity, and environmental factors that support fast food consumption contribute greatly to the increasing number of obesity.

"Perlaku and the environment can cause obesity, hypertension, and fat metabolic disorders," he continued.

This condition is exacerbated by high levels of cholesterol in the body which further increases the risk of chronic diseases.

"Now high cholesterol is an extraordinary problem," he added.

How a person controls the consumption of sugar, salt, and fats greatly determines the risk of obesity and other metabolic diseases.

"Especially for those who are already obese. By 2025, it is estimated that the obesity rate will increase and become an image like in America, where many people suffer from obesity due to excessive consumption of fast food," said Dr. Nadia.

On the other hand, healthy diets such as in Japan and Korea that prioritize fresh and nutritious food have a positive impact on the lower level of obesity. However, this dietary trend is also starting to change with the times.

"Now the Gen Z trend in Korea is no longer obese. In the past, obese Koreans were rarely seen, but now there is a shift," he added.

This diet shift coincides with changes in the trend of disease in the world. Previously, stroke was always the number one cause of death, followed by heart disease.

Now, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TBC) have begun to be replaced by diabetes as one of the main causes of death. Obesity is not only overweight, but also a risk factor for various dangerous diseases.

"If we look at risk factors, obesity contributes to 3.4 million deaths every year. Heart disease is ranked second because of uncontrolled high blood pressure, smoking, kidney function disorders, high levels of fat, and obesity itself," explained Dr. Nadia.

Even more worrying, the prevalence of obesity continues to increase rapidly. In fact, even though Indonesia is still facing stunting problems (chronic malnutrition), the number of children who are obese is also increasing.

"One in five children are obese. The prevalence trend has increased by 2.5 percent, while from 2007 to 2013, the obesity rate has tripled," he said.

The impact of obesity on children is very serious. If not treated properly, children who are obese are currently at risk of stroke, heart failure, andcut heart disease in the next 23 years.

In addition, obesity can also cause fertility disorders, such as abnormalities in the reproductive tract that can inhibit pregnancy.

"This is because fat is stored in the skin. If it is full, it will move to the liver, so that the levels of fat in the body become very high," added Dr. Nadia.

The prevention of obesity not only relies on medical treatment, but also on a healthier lifestyle change.

"Obesity can be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and controlling risk factors such as hypertension," said Dr. Nadia.

One of the important steps in preventing obesity and related diseases is to limit the consumption of sugar, salt, and fat. Unfortunately, there are still many people who are not aware of the importance of a healthy diet.

"As many as 40 percent of people just found out that they have non-communicable diseases after their condition was severe enough." he said.

A balanced healthy diet, exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking is the main key in preventing obesity and other chronic diseases.