The Faculty of Medicine (FK) of Universitas Indonesia (UI), through the Indonesian Hydration Working Group (IHWG), in collaboration with the UI Makara Satellite Clinic, held a community service activity in the form of health education about hydration. This activity is part of the UI Healthy Campus Movement in controlling workers’ weight. A total of 44 Posbindu (Integrated Development Post) cadre participants at UI attended and participated in the activity on Thursday, November 28. at the Makara Satellite Clinic, UI Depok Campus.
The increasing obesity among the community, including workers, is a serious concern. Obesity is one of the risk factors for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), so weight control through preventive measures is very necessary. Research by Widyahening et al. (2022) on 613 UI employees showed that 17.3% were overweight, 32.6% were grade 1 obese, and 16.8% were grade 2 obese. This data encouraged the initiation of the Healthy Campus Movement at UI to create a healthier work environment.
Head of the Makara UI Satellite Clinic, Dr. dr. Dhanasari Vidiawati, M.Sc., CM-FM., Sp.KKLP said that the training for Posbindu cadres is part of the healthy campus movement. “This activity is very important, one of which is to prevent and reduce obesity rates among workers at the University of Indonesia. The hope is that employees who attend the training can pass on the material they get to their colleagues in their respective places, including knowledge about healthy hydration,” said dr. Dhanasari.
Meanwhile, Head of the FKUI Community Service Team, dr. Dewi Friska, MKK, Sp.KKLP said that increasing the regular consumption of water is one effective way to prevent obesity. “Regular consumption of water can help increase satiety and reduce the intake of sweet, high-calorie drinks. Water consumption is very important, so the theme we took in this community service activity is PAK RAMA 2.0 or Pekerja Aktif Rajin Minum Air: Pemberdayaan Kader Posbindu UI sebagai Upaya Penurunan Penyakit Tidak Menular di Kota Depok (Active Workers Who Drink Water Diligently: Empowerment of Posbindu UI Cadres as an Effort to Reduce Non-Communicable Diseases in Depok City),” said dr. Dewi.
She also cited several studies showing that increasing the consumption of 500 ml of water or about two glasses per day, accompanied by a regulated diet for 12 weeks, can help reduce weight by up to 2 kg more than the group that did not add water.
The participants were given several materials and skills training as education, including “Obesitas dan Penyakit Tidak Menular: Faktor Risiko pada Pekerja” (Obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases: Risk Factors in Workers) and “Hidrasi Sehat Program PAK RAMA” (Healthy Hydration PAK RAMA Program) by dr. Dewi Friska. This material emphasizes the importance of healthy hydration and its impact on weight control. Then, “Balanced Nutritional Patterns as Part of Weight Control” by dr. Wiji Lestari, Sp.GK(K)., M.Gizi, which provides guidance on weight management through balanced nutritional consumption, limiting sugar, salt, and fat, as well as regulating the portion of staple foods, vegetables, side dishes, and fruit.
Furthermore, the participants were also given education on “Aktivitas Fisik bagi Pekerja Sedenter” (Physical Activity for Sedentary Workers) by Dr. dr. Nani Cahyani, Sp.KO, from the Department of Community Medicine. Dr. Nani advised to always be active because of the large number of sedentary workers, namely those whose work activities require sitting for long periods of time or involve minimal physical activity.
Veny Nanin, one of the educational staff at the Faculty of Economics and Business UI said that the material and speakers were very good at conveying and the knowledge was very useful. “As a cadre of the Faculty Posbindu, we are allowed to disseminate the knowledge gained to the surrounding environment, especially in each faculty,” said Veny.
Through this activity, which is supported by grant funding from the Directorate of Community Service and Empowerment (DPPM) UI, it is hoped that each participant will have the ability as a peer educator who can re-educate using healthy hydration education materials developed by the IHWG FKUI team.
