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EXPLORING THE PHENOMENON OF OBESITY AMONG
TEENAGERS: CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS.
CAUSES.
AND
PREVENTIVE SOLUTIONS
Novina Aryanti .
Faculty of Medicine.
Wijaya Kusuma Surabaya uwks@gmail.
Abstract Adolescent obesity is a growing concern in Surabaya, influenced by multiple interconnected factors such as unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity, limited nutritional knowledge, family behaviors, peer pressure, and media exposure.
This study identifies these factors and examines their impact on adolescent obesity, supported by the energy balance theory and behavioral epidemiology.
Findings indicate that family routines and cultural perceptions of food play significant roles in shaping adolescentsAo eating The study also highlights how peer influence and the portrayal of food and body image in social media contribute to unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Solutions proposed include the integration of nutrition education in schools, promotion of fun and social physical activities, and stronger family involvement in monitoring eating habits.
Furthermore, school policies should support healthy food choices, and healthcare professionals should provide regular guidance and counseling.
A collaborative approach involving schools, families, and health professionals is essential for long-term behavior change.
This research emphasizes the need for community-wide efforts to create an environment that promotes healthier lifestyles and aligns with local cultural values.
Keywords: Adolescent obesity,Teenagers.
Cultural perceptions INTRODUCTION In recent years, the prevalence of that 16% of children and teenagers were overweight among teenagers has risen classified as overweightAia figure that significantly on a global scale, and Indonesia continues to grow.
This trend is often linked is no exception.
According to data from the to lifestyle changes brought about by World Health Organization (WHO), the modernization, including decreased physical number of overweight individuals aged 5Ae19 activity and increased consumption of fast worldwide has increased more than tenfold foodA.
since 1975, reaching approximately 124 Obesity during the teenage years is million cases in 2016A.
In Indonesia, the 2018 concerning not only because it can lead to Basic Health Research (Riskesda.
reported conditionsAisuch JURNAL EDUNursing.
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Overweight teenagers may experience low This study adopts a mixed methods self-esteem, emotional distress, and social approach to achieve two main objectives:
Therefore, it is crucial to explore .
to identify the factors contributing to the underlying causes of this issue and seek teenage obesity in Surabaya, and .
to effective strategies for prevention.
This study takes place in Surabaya, one of IndonesiaAos major urban centers, where teenagers, families, schools, and health teenagers are particularly exposed to the By considering cultural modern urban lifestyle.
In such cities, fast perceptions alongside causes and solutions, food is widely accessible, and sedentary this research aims to contribute meaningful behavior is increasingly common among insights that can support efforts to combat Research by Turege et al.
obesity among teenagers in Indonesian that a lack of physical activity is a key urban settings.
contributor to obesity among teenagers living in urban environmentsA.
However.
RESEARCH METHODS most studies tend to examine the issue in This study employed a mixed- isolation, often neglecting the need for collaboration among families, schools, and quantitative and qualitative research to health professionals to develop holistic obtain a comprehensive understanding of the obesity phenomenon among teenagers Previous research has proposed several in Surabaya.
The aim was not only to preventive measures, such as promoting examine the prevalence and contributing nutrition education in schoolsA, establishing factors of obesity but also to explore school policies that encourage physical cultural perceptions and identify feasible activityAA, and guiding parents to support preventive strategies involving multiple homeA.
Nevertheless, much of this literature Quantitative Phase originates from high-income countries with cultural and social contexts that differ collection was conducted through a significantly from Indonesia.
As a result, structured survey targeting teenagers at there remains a gap in research that risk of being overweight or obese.
examines obesity from a more integrated JURNAL EDUNursing.
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e-ISSN : 2579-6127 Semi-structured purposive sampling technique was used to Participation perspectives on teenage lifestyles, family required parental consent, and adolescents routines, food culture, perceptions of body with chronic medical conditions unrelated image, and the role of schools and to lifestyle were excluded.
healthcare systems in managing obesity.
Surabaya.
select 50 teenagers aged 14Ae18 years, all Particular attention was paid to how The classification of overweight and BMI-for-age cultural values and norms influence health percentiles according to World Health behaviors and responses to weight-related Organization (WHO) standards: teenagers BMI-for-age In addition, a Focus Group Discussion percentile were considered overweight, (FGD) was held involving a combination and those above the 95th percentile were categorized as obese.
The FGD was designed to foster parents, teachers, dialogue and collective reflection on The survey gathered data on eating interventions, allowing participants to correlation with overweight or obesity.
The propose preventive solutions that are instrument was pre-tested on a small group sensitive to local beliefs, behaviors, and Data Analysis appropriateness within the cultural and linguistic context of Surabaya.
Quantitative data were analyzed using Qualitative Phase descriptive statistics to determine the prevalence and distribution of overweight The qualitative phase aimed to gain deeper insights into the cultural and contextual dimensions of teenage obesity.
Meanwhile.
Using a purposive sampling strategy, the interviews and FGDs were subjected to thematic analysis, identifying key themes These informants were selected based on their active roles in dynamics contributing to obesity, as well guiding adolescents and their capacity to reflect on lifestyle, family culture, and community-based health practices.
community-driven JURNAL EDUNursing.
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e-ISSN : 2579-6127 Instrument Validation adolescent obesity in Surabaya is a multifactorial issue influenced by personal To ensure the validity and cultural relevance of the instruments, both the survey and interview guides were adapted from established tools and then validated These factors are summarized in Table 1.
The experts focusing on adolescent nutrition, while the interview guide was examined by No.
a panel consisting of professionals in Contributing Factor Feedback from these experts helped refine the tools to suit the cultural context and This research was reviewed and No.
The 16/SLE/FK/UWKS/2024.
Teens sit too much, often exercise less using phones than twice a Schools lack Lack of donAot Family Family diet have habits overweight strongly teen eating Social Peer 23 eat similar influence their encourages adhered to ethical standards for research involving human participants, including informed consent, voluntary participation, and confidentiality.
RESULTS
The following table presents the main factors that contribute to obesity among adolescents in Surabaya, based on the Interview and FGD Results Lack Universitas Wijaya Kusuma Surabaya.
Survey Results Unhealthy eating habits approved by the Ethics Committee of Ethical Considerations Fast food is 40 teens eat easy fast food >3 tasty, making times/week.
among teens.
complexity of the issues studied.
Table 1.
Factors Contributing to Obesity Among Adolescents in Surabaya instrument was reviewed by public health results of a survey involving 50 teenagers, and supported by insights from interviews and focus group discussions (FGD.
with Unhealthy Eating Habits A significant majority .
out of 50 The findings suggest that respondent.
reported consuming fast food JURNAL EDUNursing.
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This physical activity is still not preference is often reinforced by urban embedded into the daily lifestyle of urban cultural norms that associate fast food with families, where academic success is often modernity, convenience, and social status.
prioritized over physical wellness.
In SurabayaAos urban setting, fast food chains Lack of Nutritional Knowledge are accessible and widely marketed, often Thirty perceived as a treat or even a sign of understanding basic nutrition principles.
economic progress.
Interviews with parents The interviews revealed that many parents indicate that adolescents favor fast food lack sufficient knowledge about balanced because it is palatable and convenient.
diets themselves, and nutrition is rarely Health professionals noted that this pattern taught as a practical subject in schools.
This often involves skipping traditional meals, is compounded by cultural beliefs that such as breakfast, in favor of calorie-dense equate "more food" or "plumpness" with health and prosperityAiespecially among Cultural perceptions also play a role here: traditional home-cooked meals, often perceived as about what healthy eating entails.
Teachers time-consuming or outdated, are gradually stated that school curricula often include being replaced in favor of more "modern" nutrition topics only superficially.
Without eating patterns.
culturally relevant and engaging materials.
Lack of Physical Activity adolescents struggle to connect nutritional engaged in physical activity less than twice Family Factors a week.
Teachers observed that most determinant of adolescent obesity.
Twenty- entertainment, spending long hours on seven respondents came from families with In addition, parents highlighted a lack of public recreational facilities and the revealed that many households regularly discomfort of SurabayaAos hot climate as consume high-calorie meals with little barriers to outdoor activity.
Cultural dietary regulation.
Working parents often perceptions surrounding gender roles also opt for takeout or instant meals, setting emerged: girls are often discouraged from participating in vigorous physical activities In Surabaya, cultural practices that emphasize communal eating and hospitality femininity and behavior.
Furthermore, may also contribute to overeating, as food is Family environment emerged as a key theory with daily practice.
The survey indicated that 33 teenagers generationsAicreating JURNAL EDUNursing.
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foods and physically active lifestyles are Moreover, the low prioritization of physical sometimes associated with rural or Auless activity within family routines reinforces modernAy identities, leading to their neglect.
sedentary lifestyles among teenagers.
Furthermore, the ideal body image among adolescents in some communities Social Environment Influence The survey found that 23 adolescents does not necessarily align with medical tend to eat what their friends eat.
Social definitions of healthy weight.
Some parents eating habitsAishaped by peer groups and do not perceive their overweight children as media exposureAiplay a powerful role.
having a problem, believing that a fuller Interviews revealed that teenagers often body signifies good health.
These cultural follow food trends seen on platforms like beliefs hinder early intervention and the TikTok adoption of healthier behaviors.
Instagram.
The To effectively address adolescent cosmopolitan is frequently tied to food choices, particularly the consumption of popular or viral snacks.
Teachers noted that infrastructureAithey must also confront and students are more influenced by influencers reshape the cultural narratives that frame or online personalities than by educational food, body image, and health behaviors.
Thus, peer conformity and Cultural Perceptions and Their Role in Adolescent Obesity Across all categories, cultural Surabaya unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity, low nutrition knowledge, family health in Surabaya.
The normalization of environmentAi exposureAias well as cultural perceptions fast food, sedentary leisure, and limited related to food, body image, and lifestyle.
physical exertion is reinforced by media, adolescent behaviors related to food and This study found that obesity unhealthy eating patterns.
DISCUSSION
digital culture are significant contributors to Surabaya.
These findings reflect both individual choices and broader social and cultural In many families, especially influences, requiring a comprehensive those with increasing economic means, consuming fast food is seen as a symbol of upward mobility.
Conversely, traditional JURNAL EDUNursing.
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Survey data showed et al.
, including school policies that that a majority of teenagers frequently promote physical activity.
consume fast food and sugary snacks.
This Family Influence.
Family lifestyle is in line with previous research .
, which plays a central role.
Parents in this study confirmed that high consumption of fat and admitted that busy schedules often lead sugar contributes significantly to obesity, them to choose fast food for their children.
especially in urban areas.
Additionally, 37 Many also do not actively monitor their out of 50 adolescents reported lacking basic childrenAos diets.
According to Golan & knowledge about healthy food.
This reflects Crow .
, targeting parents in health the gap in school-based nutrition education, interventions is essential, as family routines as also highlighted by HamuCka et al.
strongly influence adolescent behaviors.
who emphasized the role of structured this study, 27 out of 50 adolescents reported having family members who are also studentsAo eating habits.
Teachers and overweight, which suggests that eating healthcare workers in this study supported habits may be learned at home and passed the integration of nutrition education into the school curriculum as a long-term Peer and Social Media Influence.
Peer influence emerged as a strong factor in Physical Inactivity and Sedentary food choice.
Adolescents tend to follow Behavior.
One significant contributor is the their friendsAo eating habits, especially in lack of regular physical activity.
Most social settings.
This supports the work of adolescents reported preferring screen- Pedersen et al.
and Chung et al.
based activities such as playing games or who found that adolescents often adopt the browsing social media.
This is supported by dietary norms of their peer groups for social Al Rahmad .
and Megawati et al.
, who showed that sedentary lifestylesAimarked confirmed that students are more influenced by long periods of sittingAiare major by friends than by adult guidance.
factors in adolescent weight gain.
In this Teachers The role of media, especially social media, also cannot be ignored.
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram often promote fast food through viral content and influencer facilities and structured physical activities.
This supports the need for more active Tsochantaridou et al.
and JURNAL EDUNursing.
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reported similar findings, calories than the body uses .
Many showing that adolescents are heavily adolescents in Surabaya consume high- influenced by visual advertisements and calorie foods and do not burn enough food trends shared online.
In Surabaya, this energy through exercise.
This imbalance is influence leads to greater consumption of made worse by family routines and digital unhealthy food, as teenagers try to follow From a behavioral epidemiology what they see online.
perspective, adolescent obesity is shaped by Cultural environmental and behavioral factors .
attitudes also shape adolescent behaviors In this case, the home, school, peer group, regarding food and body image.
In many cultural norms, and media environment all contribute to shaping an adolescentAos Surabaya, eating outAiespecially in fast- lifestyle choices, confirming the need for food chainsAiis seen as modern, trendy, multi-level interventions.
Cultural Perceptions.
Indonesian and even prestigious among teenagers.
Sharing food photos on social media CONCLUSION reinforces this perception.
Moreover, a This larger body size is not always viewed unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activity, limited knowledge about nutrition, overweight status.
This aligns with studies on cultural perceptions of obesity in attitudes play a crucial role, as the preference for fast food and larger body Consequently, efforts to reduce obesity sizes are often linked to social status or must also address cultural norms and health in certain cultural contexts, which perceptions, ensuring that messages about can reduce concerns about obesity.
These health and nutrition resonate with local findings support the theories of energy values and identities.
Theoretical surrounding food and body image.
Cultural beauty and health may not align with pressures, as well as cultural perceptions Southeast Asia, where traditional views on several interconnected factors, such as is associated with health or affluence, adolescent obesity in Surabaya is caused by in some families, being chubby balance and behavioral epidemiology.
Framework which explain that obesity occurs when Connection.
These findings support the there is an imbalance between the calories energy balance theory, which states that consumed and the energy used, especially obesity results from consuming more in sedentary lifestyles.
JURNAL EDUNursing.
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e-ISSN : 2579-6127 The role of family is critical, as the eating aligned with the cultural values and social patterns and daily habits at home strongly practices of the local context.
REFERENCES