HiLo champions muscle health with nationwide 'Strong Fest' movement in Indonesia

As the world marks Sarcopenia Awareness Day every 4 July, HiLo is making muscle health a national conversation in Indonesia - one fitness event at a time.

With its HiLo Strong Fest 2025 campaign, the milk brand is reasserting its role as a provider of high-protein, calcium-rich nutrition across all ages. But this year, it’s taking a more grassroots approach: staging sports and education festivals in ten cities and drawing more than 5,000 participants nationwide.

The initiative centres around a growing health concern - sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. It’s a condition that experts warn is often overlooked but increasingly urgent, especially in rapidly ageing populations.

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“Sarcopenia is a disorder of the musculoskeletal system, marked by reduced muscle mass, strength, and performance,” said Andhika Respati, a sports medicine specialist, as quoted by Tribun. “While it’s commonly associated with ageing, factors like sedentary lifestyle, malnutrition, and chronic illness can accelerate its onset.”

“It’s linked with frailty, mobility limitations, higher risk of falls, hospitalisation, chronic disease, and even premature death. People with low muscle strength can have up to 50% higher mortality risk compared to those with better muscle mass and strength,” he added.

HiLo is tackling this risk head-on with its signature message: #NabungOtot - loosely translated as “save up on muscle.” It’s a call for Indonesians, particularly in their productive years, to start investing in their muscle health before the onset of age-related decline.

“We want to use Sarcopenia Awareness Day to raise public awareness that muscle health requires more than just adequate protein intake - it also needs resistance training,” said Yesaya Christian, brand manager at HiLo. “HiLo Strong Fest 2025 is not just a fun sports festival. It’s also educational. We want to prove that health education can be engaging, practical, and enjoyable.”

Medical data backs this urgency. After the age of 30, adults lose between 3-8% of their muscle mass every decade - a rate that accelerates with age. Without the right diet and exercise, this loss can quickly snowball into sarcopenia.

“Don’t just focus on cardio or hitting your step goals,” said Respati. “Incorporate weight training 2-3 times a week.” Equally important, he added, is the nutritional aspect.

The Indonesian Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) suggests 65g of protein per day for adult men and 60g for women. For those aged 65+, the requirement slightly tapers down to 64g and 58g, respectively. But beyond quantity, protein quality plays a critical role.

“We also need to look at protein quality. Milk - especially those with whey protein - is one such source,” he explained. “Whey is rich in essential amino acids that the body can’t produce on its own. It helps build and maintain muscle mass.”

In Palembang, one of the host cities, the event featured group workouts such as Strong Poundfit and Les Mills Body Combat, with local fitness communities such as POUND PTC and Okami Fitness leading the sessions.

The campaign has also drawn support from regional government figures, including South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru, who encouraged young people to take muscle strength seriously. “I want to urge the public to start saving up on muscle. Lifting weights won’t make you bulky - but it will help shape your body and lower your risk of sarcopenia so you can stay strong as you age,” he said.

HiLo Strong Fest is part of a broader campaign that goes beyond public festivals. The brand has rolled out doctor-led roundtable discussions in multiple cities, launched training programmes for physical education teachers, and created health content across media platforms - all in support of its #NabungOtot and #FightSarcopenia messages.

The brand is supported by a suite of partners, including L-Men, Okami Fitness, Aryaduta Hotels, Tropicana Slim, Heavenly Blush, Erhair, and NutriSari.

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