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)