Around 13 percent of Indonesians suffer from diabetes: Health Minister

File - A woman chooses sugary drinks at a shopping center in South Tangerang, Banten, on July 5, 2024. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin revealed that around 13 percent of population are suffering from diabetes. (ANTARA FOTO/Sulthony Hasanuddin/tom)

Bandung, West Java (ANTARA) - Around 13 percent of Indonesia's population, or about 35.8 million people, are suffering from diabetes, and their condition could worsen if not treated sustainably, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said on Friday.

"If not treated, it could become a chronic disease," he said.

Sadikin urged the public, particularly children, to start reducing their sugar consumption to prevent chronic disease.

He said that high consumption of sugary foods and drinks has been linked to kidney failure in children.

Taking note of the current trend of children taking sugary foods and drinks, Sadikin asked that sugar consumption be reduced to safe limits to lower the risk of disease.

"Sugar is the cause of all kinds of diseases, including kidneys, liver, stroke, and heart disease," he said, adding that daily sugar intake must not exceed four teaspoons.

On the same occasion, West Java Acting Governor Bey Triadi Machmudin said that parents and family have an important role in ensuring healthy food consumption and reducing sugar, salt, and fat intake.

He urged the Health Ministry and related parties to immediately apply special labels to packaged food and drinks to prevent a spike in cases of children on dialysis, whose number has been detected to be high.

"We hope the labeling can give assurance to the public. For example, a green label means safe for consumption," he explained.

Earlier, the Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital (RSHS) in Bandung, West Java, assured there has been no spike in the number of child patients requiring dialysis or hemodialysis treatment at the hospital.

Dr. Ahmedz Widiasta from the nephrology division of RSHS said on Thursday that around 20 children undergo dialysis routinely every month at the hospital.

So far, the number of pediatric patients undergoing hemodialysis at RSHS is stable and has not shown a significant increase, he said. Some patients have been referred to get treatment at hospitals in their respective areas.