Prevent Chronic Diseases, Minister of Health Invites Young Generation to Make Healthy Eating a Trend

TikTok Indonesia together with the Ministry of Health launched the Eat with Meaning initiative (Photo: VOI/Adelia)

JAKARTA - Healthy eating patterns are one of the important factors in preventing various non-communicable diseases, which are now the highest cause of death in Indonesia.

Consuming a balanced nutritious diet, increasing local food ingredients, and limiting sugar, salt, and fat intake are simple steps that people can take to maintain health early on.

In the midst of increasing public interest in a healthy lifestyle, digital platforms also play a role as an easily accessible educational tool. Various information regarding healthy recipes, how to process local food ingredients, to tips on implementing a balanced diet is now easier to find through social media.

Seeing this opportunity, TikTok Indonesia launched the Makan dengan Makna initiative, a local implementation of The Main Ingredient's global program.

This program aims to help people find healthy eating patterns and increase understanding of the importance of nutrition and the use of local Indonesian food.

The launch of this program was also marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between TikTok and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia to strengthen education on balanced nutrition.

In addition, TikTok partnered with Foodbank of Indonesia to expand its impact through the provision of nutritious food and various educational programs for the community.

The Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin assessed that digital platforms have a strategic role in delivering health messages to the public.

"I feel that TikTok plays a very important role in conveying health messages to the public as Minister of Health," said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in South Petojo, Central Jakarta on Thursday, July 9, 2026.

According to him, improving the quality of public health is an important foundation in realizing Indonesia as a developed country.

"Indonesia's dream of gold in 2045 is to make Indonesia a developed country, not just about gold, but about improving people's welfare," said Budi.

He reminded Indonesia that it has a limited golden period to take advantage of the demographic bonus.

"We only have a golden period of about 5-10 years. If this momentum is missed, Indonesia risks being trapped as a middle-income country," he said.

The Minister of Health also emphasized the importance of building healthy and productive human resources.

"If we are busy with conflicts and creating negative content, we can lose the opportunity to bring Indonesia to a developed country. A developed country depends a lot on the quality of its people. People must be healthy and smart," he added.

On this occasion, the Minister of Health reminded that most chronic diseases can actually be prevented through lifestyle changes.

"The four diseases that cause the most deaths, stroke, heart, cancer, and kidney disease, are greatly influenced by diet and lifestyle," he said.

The Minister of Health invites the public to start implementing a healthier diet.

"Please help me educate people to eat healthy: less sugar, less salt, less fat, and not overeat," he said.

The Minister of Health hopes that healthy eating habits can become part of people's lifestyles, especially the younger generation.

"Let's make healthy eating something cool and trendy, not something that is considered old-fashioned. I hope TikTok creators will create more positive content about healthy diets and free health checks," he said.

Head of Public Policy TikTok Indonesia, Noudhy Valdryno said that digital platforms can be an effective space to spread healthy living inspiration through content that is close to people's daily lives.

"Today we want to share how to harness the power of discovery on TikTok with creators and the community to help people find healthy living inspiration closer to their daily lives," said Noudhy.

According to him, the initiative to Eat with Meaning also raises the great potential of local Indonesian food.

"Through the initiative of Eating with Meaning, we want to help people find inspiration regarding healthier eating patterns and lifestyles by utilizing the wealth of local ingredients we have," he added.

Noudhy believes that healthy lifestyle changes can start with simple steps.

"We believe change often starts with simple things. Starting with one recipe to try, one good habit, and one content that inspires someone to make healthy choices in everyday life," he said.

In addition to strengthening education with the Ministry of Health, TikTok also presents real action through collaboration with Foodbank of Indonesia.

"We are very proud to strengthen this effort through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia to support education on balanced nutrition and healthy lifestyles," said Noudhy.

Through the Eat Local campaign, TikTok hopes that more people will get to know local food as part of a healthy diet.

"Through the Eat Local campaign, we want to invite the community to get to know the richness of Indonesian food. Hopefully, more and more people will realize that eating healthy does not have to be complicated and expensive," he said.

At the end of his presentation, Noudhy emphasized that the success of health education requires collaboration from various parties.

"We believe that when the government, community organizations, creators, and digital platforms move together, the impact will be much greater."

Makan dengan Makna is not just about food. This initiative is about how we together help people find inspiration to live healthier through useful content, strong collaboration, and real actions that have an impact on society.