Jakarta, IO – Adequate healthy balanced nutrition, containing macro and micronutrients, affects children’s growth and development, and should therefore be optimal. The goal is to prevent stunting, wasting, underweight or even overweight conditions in growing children. Secretary General of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), dr. Ulul Albab, Sp.OG point out that 20- 50% of children who grow normally and 70-89% of children with developmental disorders are reported to suffer various types of feeding problems, including loss of appetite.
“If that occurs over a long period, these problems can negatively affect children’s growth to the point of malnutrition, which could even result in a risk of death almost 12 times higher than children with adequate nutrition. In the past, we abided by ‘4 Sehat 5 Sempurna’, while today this is called ‘healthy balanced nutrition’ containing carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. The fact is that children’s nutritional health is important for their optimal growth and development,” said dr. Ulul, in a media meeting themed “Sakatonik ABC, Solution for Children with Loss Appetite” held by Kalbe Consumer Health on Tuesday (30/7/2024).
A 2023 Indonesian Health Survey reports that one in 12 toddlers suffer wasting, one in seven may grow up stunted, one in four toddlers has anemia and one of 13 children is overweight. “Don’t let your child become a picky eater. Parents must become role models for their children to develop optimally and avoid malnutrition. Check their height and weight regularly. If children show a loss of appetite, parents can give them vitamins to support growth and development. However, vitamins only complement balanced healthy nutrition. One way to check the nutritional status and growth of children is to use the WHO growth curve, which can be found at Public Health Center (Puskesmas),” he explained.
Read: “Lifestyle medicine” for cardiovascular disease
On the same occasion, Senior Brand Manager of Kalbe Consumer Health Chitra Ariesta revealed that her party is working with IDI to develop a WHO growth curve and ECAST questionnaire as a reference for examining children’s nutritional status, in the form of the ABC Nutri Meter. “This application can be a reference for examining children’s nutritional status and detecting eating disorders. It is quite easy to use, only requiring the identity of weight, height, gender, age, and answering a questionnaire about children’s appetite and endurance. Measurement results and tips can be easily read and applied. This tool can also be used to determine the risk of anemia in adolescents and effective treatment.” (est)