The Burden of Childhood Obesity in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia encounters nutritional transition, described by high prevalence of undernutrition at initial and conversion into overnutrition with the following economic improvement, which also known as double burden of malnutrition. Problem about obese children in Indonesia must get serious attention. Compared to other South East Asian nations, Indonesia has the highest prevalence of obesity in children aged under 5 years. The latest Indonesian data shows that the prevalence of overweight/obese in children aged under 5 years and 5-12 years are 8% and 19.6%, respectively. Childhood obesity is a result of complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. It leads to many complications that not only appears in childhood, but also in adulthood, including multi organ damage and psychosocial problems. An estimate of IDR 2.85 quadrillion must be spent as the incremental direct medical cost of childhood obesity in Indonesia. Besides, there is also indirect cost of obesity, such as productivity loss. On the contrary, the total cost of prevention program for all Indonesian children is only around IDR 5.83 billion. Therefore, prioritizing treatment and prevention programs for childhood obesity must be urgently realized in Indonesia.