Indonesia is experiencing a double burden of malnutrition where, on one side, there is a problem of malnutrition and stunting, while on the other, there is a high rate of obesity. Data from the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey shows that the prevalence of overweight and obesity is around 19.7% in children aged 5–12 years and 16% in children aged 13–15 years. To prevent the increase in obesity among college students, Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Makara Satellite Clinic is taking preventive action in the form of health checks and education for new students.
The Head of the Makara Satellite Clinic UI, Dr. dr. Dhanasari Vidiawati Sanyoto, M.Sc., CM-FM., Sp.DLP, said that this education is important to do because many teenagers or students without the knowledge that obesity causes problems in the future. “Obesity has a short-term and long-term impact. In the short term, obesity causes disorders of the motor system, especially the legs and knees, due to supporting excessive weight. Meanwhile, in the long-term, obesity causes serious diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, stroke, and heart disease,” he said.
According to dr. Dhana, there are two main causes of obesity in teenagers, namely low physical activity and an unbalanced diet. Low physical activity causes a low body metabolism process. Higher calorie intake compared to calories burned results in fat accumulation in the body. As a result, students are encouraged to do physical activities and sports according to their respective interests.
“Unlike in high school, sports is not a compulsory course in higher education. Because of that, students must also have self-awareness to exercise. In UI, the sports facilities are very sufficient. The campus environment is also encouraging activities, such as walking, running, or cycling. Of course, this facility must be utilized well by students,” said dr. Dhana.
Other than increasing physical activity, students are encouraged to set a balanced diet. Before doing activities, students are required to eat breakfast, because someone who skips breakfast tends to experience obesity. In addition, they have to pay attention to the food they consume, this includes avoiding fatty foods, high in carbohydrates, fried foods, and packaged foods that are high in sugar.
For students who are experiencing obesity, a primary care medical specialist (Sp.KKLP) at the UI Satellite Clinic offers coaching to motivate them to lose weight. Students can also make use of the Active Clinic facility at the Health Sciences Cluster (RIK) and Exercise Clinic at the Indonesian Medical Education and Research Institute (IMERI) building of the Faculty of Medicine UI managed by sports medicine specialists. This facility provides free health services in the form of physical training facilities to improve the health and fitness of the community, as well as help UI students who are experiencing weight problems.
