The Effectiveness of Implementation of Healthy Living Community Movement in Overcoming Metabolic Syndrome Among Female Workers in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome occurs in almost 25% of the world’s adult population. A workplace is an ideal place for implementing health interventions to reduce metabolic syndrome risk factor. One of the Indonesian government’s health programs to improve public health and prevent non-communicable diseases is called Healthy Living Community Movement (HLCM). This research aims to determine the effectiveness of HLCM implementation to overcome metabolic syndrome among female workers in Indonesia. This quasi-experimental study included 42 female workers with metabolic syndrome, which were divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group was given an 8-weeks combination of health education and implementation of HLCM activities that consisted of fruit and vegetables provision as much as 400 grams per day and physical exercisefor at least 150 minutes per week. The intervention for control group included only health education. Subjects’parameters were measured and adherence toHLCM activities was evaluated by a questionnaire. Adherence to HLCM implementation was carried out by 52.4% of the subjects which resulted in a significant reduction in their waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and triglyceride levels (p < 0.05, respectively). After 8 weeks of interventions, 13 subjects (65%) from the intervention group were no longer included in the metabolic syndrome criteria, while in the control group only 2 subjects (10.5%) were not included. Therefore, the implementation of HLCM in the workplace is effective in overcoming the metabolic syndrome.