Adherence to the healthy lifestyle guideline in relation to the metabolic syndrome: Analyses from the 2013 and 2018 Indonesian national health surveys

In this study, we aimed to investigate differences in lifestyle factors and prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in the Indonesian population between 2013 and 2018. In addition, we investigated whether adherence to the 2015-released national healthy lifestyle guideline (‘GERMAS’) is associated with MetS in different sex, age, urban/rural, and BMI categories. We performed cross-sectional analyses in individuals aged >15 of the 2013 (n = 34,274) and 2018 (n = 33,786) Indonesian National Health Surveys. A stratified, multi-stage, systematic random sampling design and the probability proportional to size method were used to select households in the 34 provinces across the country. MetS was defined according to the Joint Interim Statement Criteria, and adherence to ‘GERMAS’ guideline was defined as fulfilling the national healthy lifestyle recommendations of ≥150 min/week physical activity (PA), ≥5 portions/day fruit and vegetable (FV), no smoking (NS), and no alcohol consumption (NA). We examined the associations of each lifestyle factor with MetS using logistic regression categorised by sex, age groups, urban/rural, and BMI, and adjusted for sociodemographic factors. We observed that men who adhered to the guideline had lower odds ratio of MetS [OR(95%CI) associated with PA: 0.85(0.75–0.97); NA: 0.75(0.56–1.00)] than non-adherent men. Middle-aged adults who adhered to the guideline had lower OR of MetS [PA: 0.85(0.72–1.01); FV: 0.78(0.62–0.99); NA: 0.66(0.46–0.93)] than non-adherent adults <45 years. The adherent urban population had lower OR of MetS [FV: 0.85(0.67–1.07); NA: 0.74(0.52–1.07)] than the non-adherent urban population. Those with overweight or obesity who adhered to the guideline had relatively lower odds of MetS than those who did not. In conclusion, in this nationally representative study, adherence to the ‘GERMAS’ guideline may confer cardiometabolic health benefits to several groups of the Indonesian population, particularly men, middle-aged, those with overweight and obesity, and potentially urban population.