Medical Innovation Needed to Complement Obesity Treatment, Prevent Complications
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health has stated the need for medical drug innovations to complement self-managed diets and bariatric surgery for obesity management, given that the condition can lead to fatal complications.
Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono said in Jakarta on Monday that the perception of obesity must change immediately. Being overweight is no longer merely an issue of aesthetics or appearance, but a chronic disease that serves as the primary gateway to various serious complications, particularly type 2 diabetes mellitus.
“Obesity must be managed through proper medical management. Based on data from the Free Health Check-up Programme, obesity consistently ranks among the top five most common health problems found in Indonesia,” said Dante.
Domestic genetic studies, he noted, show that almost all Indonesians possess a predisposition or gene for diabetes. However, whether this gene is active depends heavily on daily lifestyle. The risk of this disease increasing is also rising due to increasingly strong hereditary factors.
This condition is reflected in health survey results in Jakarta, which show that the prevalence of diabetes has reached 12.8 per cent, or equivalent to one in eight Jakarta residents. Ironically, of that figure, only about 3 per cent have been diagnosed. Meanwhile, approximately 9.8 per cent only discovered they had diabetes when participating in the survey because they had previously experienced no symptoms.
“If only one parent has diabetes, the risk of the child developing diabetes remains below 10 per cent. However, if both parents suffer from diabetes, the risk for the child increases drastically to 20 to 30 per cent at a much younger age. The risk curve rises sharply,” he explained.
According to him, maintaining weight through lifestyle modifications, such as dietary adjustments and exercise, is recognised as not being easy. Clinical data shows that the long-term success rate of self-managed diets is only about 5 per cent. On the other hand, bariatric surgery is still constrained by high costs and is only intended for specific medical conditions.
“Between self-managed diets and bariatric surgery, there is a gap that needs to be filled. This is where the importance of the presence of the latest medical drug innovations lies to bridge that need,” he said.
By controlling and reducing obesity rates, he added, further complications can be directly prevented, such as reducing cases of diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.
In line with this, an Endocrinology Specialist from the Indonesian Society of Endocrinology (PERKENI), Prof. Em Yunir, added that the prevalence of diabetes in Indonesia currently ranges between 11.5 and 11.7 per cent.
According to her, the greatest challenge in managing diabetes is that the disease rarely exists in isolation. Diabetes is generally accompanied by various comorbidities, such as dyslipidaemia and hypertension, which can trigger organ damage, including kidney failure.
The arrival of new treatment innovations, such as the substance tirzepatide, is expected to provide fresh hope as it can work comprehensively by mimicking two natural hormones in the body that regulate the hunger centre in the brain. Through this mechanism, patients will feel full faster and for longer, thereby reducing calorie intake naturally.
“With just one type of treatment, various problems can be controlled. Not only does it lower blood sugar levels very well, but it also lowers blood pressure, improves cholesterol profiles, and helps to significantly reduce body weight,” said Em Yunir.
Although medical innovation continues to evolve, healthy lifestyle changes through regular exercise and dietary regulation remain the fundamental pillars that must not be abandoned in the effort to prevent and control obesity and diabetes.