Menteng residents consume most fat

Menteng residents consume most fat

JAKARTA (JP): Residents of the Menteng area in Central Jakarta
consume more fat than people living in other areas of the
capital.

Harmani Kalim, a cardiologist from the Indonesian
Cardiologist's Association said on Saturday that a survey
conducted by the Ministry of Health showed that 32.3 percent of
the food consumed by Menteng residents consisted of fat. The diet
of Kayu Putih, East Jakarta, residents was 27.6 percent fat, and
Koja, North Jakarta, residents consumed only 10.8 percent fat.

"The study was conducted for only one day. The team members
asked the residents what they had eaten in the last 24 hours,"
Harmani said.

Menteng is known as a long-established elite residential area,
where many VIPs, including ambassadors live, while Koja is known
for its slums. Economically, the Kayu Putih area ranks between
Menteng and Koja.

If the 1990 study is correct, Menteng residents eat more fat
than other people in the country, as the national consumption of
fat is only 10.5 percent of the total daily food intake.

Harmani said Menteng residents consume as much fat as
westerners do.

Although he did not say whether most of the cardiac patients
in Jakarta are Menteng residents, he did point out that changes
in the food pattern, from traditional to western, is a factor in
the increased incidence of heart-related diseases among the
city's residents.

Heart failure is the number one killer in the city, and most
of the stricken came from the higher socioeconomic groups.

Harmani said that in 1986 heart disease was still the number
two killer. It moved to the top spot in 1992.

He made the statements during the introduction of a drug
called Pravastatin, which is said to be able to decrease the risk
of heart attack for those with high cholesterol.

The drug was found through a series of research projects
conducted by West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study,
University of Glasgow, Scotland.

A health survey conducted in 1992 indicated that 16.9 percent
of the deaths recorded in Jakarta were caused by cardiovascular
disorders. In the 1980s, 5.9 percent of the deaths were caused by
heart attacks and in the 1970s cardiovascular disease caused only
1.5 percent of deaths.

The steady increase in the number of cardiac patients is the
result of increased incomes which brings social and economic
changes in lifestyles.

He said that people with a high socioeconomic status tend to
eat western foods.

Harmani added that it is not surprising that cardiovascular
disease has become the number one killer in the city.

He said that although the number of heart disease cases in
Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, is not as high as in other
places around the world, it is important that the public become
concerned about cardiovascular diseases.

In Europe, the USA and Singapore one of four deaths is due to
coronary heart disease, he said.

"The disease is a result of a long process. Therefore people
should not change their lifestyle to a modern one," he said.

Harmani said people should live a healthy life, eat more
vegetables, stop eating junk food, and exercise regularly. (yns)