One in five Indonesian children are overweight

Jakarta – March 4 is World Obesity Day. In Indonesia, obesity is a serious health issue, including among children. According to the Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), one in five Indonesian children are overweight. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, director of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Ministry of Health, says obesity in children is partly caused by an unhealthy diet, with many children becoming obese because they are given foods and beverages high in sugar from an early age.

‘Sugar consumption is like an addiction; if from childhood a child is given sweet foods or drinks, there is a high likelihood they will favour sweet tastes into adulthood. Sugar consumption is highly influential and the quickest way to cause obesity,’ Nadia said during a media briefing to mark World Obesity Day in Jakarta on Tuesday 3 March 2026.

She explained that eating or drinking sweet items is not a problem if it is accompanied by regular exercise. Unfortunately, according to Free Health Check (CKG) data for 2025, 96 percent of Indonesians are insufficiently active.

‘Actually, eating or drinking sweet things is fine if paired with exercise. The problem, according to the data, is that 96 percent of our people are inactive—sedentary—and this is the issue,’ she said.

Nadia noted that children are advised to undertake physical activity or exercise at least one hour per day. However, records show that many Indonesian children do not engage in enough physical activity or sport.

‘Gadgets are very influential; nowadays many children play online games, so they don’t move much. And if this habit is accompanied by high sugar intake, Indonesian children could become obese,’ she said.