Jakarta, IO – For the past three decades, I Gusti Agung Rai “Ade Rai” Kusuma Yudha devoted himself to campaigning for people to live more healthily. “You know that most people aren’t interested in health when they’re still healthy, but only find it interesting when they’ve sacrificed their health,” he commented feelingly, in a recent interview.
Health has now assumed the stance of a higher priority, during the pandemic. “Becoming healthy” is a pricey enterprise everyone pursues. Well then, Mr. Ade Rai, do you think this means that the pandemic has impelled people to becoming more aware of the importance of health?
“To quote that infamous internet phrase, ‘There are two kinds of people’ who care about their health more during the pandemic. The first one cares about their health, but only through the lens of fear and anxiety. They act that Covid is the only threat for their health, so what matters to them is that they ‘…don’t test positive for it’. The other group has a more positive response, I think, because they become inspired to find out how to stay healthy every day,” he said that afternoon. “The real challenge is that people misunderstand the real importance of health – they are so busy running away from being infected, they fail to live a truly healthy life. In other words, they don’t really want to be healthy, they just want to be un-positive,” he smiled.
As most people are stuck in their homes over the past two years, everybody has their own way of coping with the pandemic. “Some people try to escape the situation by overeating, smoking, drinking alcohol. They depend on consumption, whether foods, beverages, tobacco or even illegal drugs,” Ade Rai said. “Those who use food as their escape mostly consume processed carbohydrates and fats. This ends up spiking their insulin resistance, which in turn causes metabolic syndrome diseases such as heart and blood vessel ailments.”