JAKARTA - Obesity is no longer just a matter of appearance, but a serious health threat that increasingly attacks the productive age group. Data from the Indonesian Health Survey 2023 shows that the prevalence of overweight reaches 14.4 percent, while obesity touches 23.4 percent. This figure confirms that almost one in four Indonesian adults lives with obesity, especially at an age that should be at the peak of productivity.
According to Dr. Luciana B. Sutanto, MS, Sp.GK, Subsp.PK, Clinical Nutrition Specialist with special expertise in nutrition for critical patients at Primaya Hospital Kelapa Gading, the increase in obesity at the productive age is closely related to modern lifestyles.
"At a productive age, a person already has a wider income and access to food, but physical activity actually decreases. The pattern of work that sits a lot, minimal exercise, and excess calorie intake make obesity very easy to happen," explained dr. Luciana.
Obesity cannot be judged only from weight or body shape. Body composition and fat distribution, especially belly fat, are important factors in assessing health risks. "A person may not look very fat, but have high fat mass and excess waist circumference. This condition is still metabolically risky," he said.
Obesity is the gateway to a variety of metabolic risks, namely a collection of conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol, and excess abdominal fat. This combination of factors significantly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
"Obesity can reduce energy, cause fatigue, difficulty focusing, joint pain, to psychological disorders. In the long term, quality of life decreases and the risk of fatal chronic diseases increases," said Dr. Luciana.
High-calorie diets, excessive consumption of sugar, salt, and fat, coupled with a lack of physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle are the main factors. Work stress, lack of sleep, and irregular meal times also worsen the body's metabolism.
Unfortunately, many people only realize the metabolic problem when complaints have already appeared. In fact, health screening is ideally done periodically from a young age. "Metabolic screening should start from a young age around 20 and be more routine as you get older, especially over 40. The goal is to detect risks early, even before symptoms appear," he explained.
The approach to managing obesity also cannot be uniform. A medical nutrition approach based on balanced nutrition and individual metabolic conditions is the key to long-term success.
"Safe and sustainable weight loss requires the guidance of a clinical nutrition specialist. Instant diets are at risk of causing malnutrition and worsening metabolism," he said.
As a first step, dr. Luciana recommends a productive age to maintain an ideal body weight, understand daily nutritional needs, and build a healthy lifestyle consistently from an early age.
"Small changes made early and continuously are much more effective than instant efforts that are seasonal. The main goal is not only to lose weight, but to protect long-term metabolic health," he concluded.
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