Indonesia Ranks Fifth With Diabetes, Cases Continue To Increase In Young People

Illustration of diabetes in Indonesia. (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Indonesia is currently ranked fifth with the highest diabetes sufferers in the world.

There are also more cases of diabetes experienced by young people, to be precise at the age of under 40 years.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by high blood sugar levels (glucose).

This condition occurs when the body cannot produce sufficient insulin and cannot use insulin effectively, so blood sugar accumulates in the body and cannot be converted into energy.

"In Indonesia, it is already ranked fifth in the world for adult diabetes sufferers," said Internal Medicine Specialist Eka Hospital Permata Hijau, dr. Pandu Tridana Sakti, Sp. PD, AIFO-K, during the Media Meet Up Eka Hospital, in Semanggi, Jakarta, on Thursday, August 14, 2025.

"We at Eka Hospital during the last five years there were 691 patients, under the age of 40, an average age of 20-40 years," he added.

Doctor Pandu said that diabetic patients with young age have a obese body condition. Diabetes is also influenced by other health conditions, such as cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Of the 691 patients, 84 percent are in a obese condition. So it is very important to deal with diabetes in young people," he said.

The comorbid factors that worsen diabetes, ranging from cholesterol, high blood pressure. So the risk factors are obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure," he continued.

The reason why many young people now have diabetes is due to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Starting from consuming unhealthy foods with a lot of sugar and fat, then lacking physical activity and genetic factors.

It's all from a poor diet, high in fat, sugar, and lack of physical activity. Then there are also genetic factors that cannot be avoided, for example, if one parent is diagnosed with diabetes, then the risk of their child being exposed can also increase," concluded Doctor Pandu.