Transitions in diet and health: implication of modern lifestyles in Indonesia

Indonesia is in the midst of major transitions in food intake and health patterns. These changes are predicated on economic growth, rising levels of education and globalisation of culture. Somehow retaining the food-health advantages of traditional Indonesian lifestyle and accommodating the advances which the West has made, especially in life expectancy, without their increasing health problems and costs, is required. From 1972 to 1992, mortality ranking for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Indonesia had gone from the 11th most common to the most common. The Jakarta Monica studies (1988 and 1993) provide prima facie evidence that similar cardiovascular risk factors to those in industrialised countries are operative for the emergent CVD problem - positive energy balance with obesity, increased animal fat consumption and decreased intake of plant-derived foods, with their many biologically active components, both nutrient and non-nutrient. Nutrition surveys show that the contribution of fat to energy intake has doubled from 1974 to 1992 (10.4% in 1974 to 20.5% in 1992). Effort is now required to enable consumers to overcome prejudice against plant foods, for whatever reason, to use low fat animal-derived food and for food products and their promotion to favour healthy choice.