Stunting must be suppressed as much as possible because it exerts an impact in both the short and long terms. According to dr. Dana, “In the short term, stunting will cause disruption of brain development, intelligence, impaired growth and development. In addition, in the long term, children’s cognitive development declines, they are susceptible to metabolic diseases, heart and blood vessel disease, and in macroeconomic terms, the income and productivity of the country suffers.”
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Several studies have shown the negative impact of stunting on children’s cognitive development as well as productivity and the country’s economy. Research conducted by the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) on preschool-aged children in the city of Bogor shows that the increase in height of children 0-4 years has an effect on the cognitive development of preschoolers. Children with height gain that does not meet WHO standards are at risk of 4.1 times experiencing delayed cognitive development. This means that the fulfillment of good nutritional needs so that they experience good height gain will affect normal cognitive development.
According to World Bank estimates, a 1% loss in adult height due to childhood stunting is associated with a 1.4% loss in economic productivity and stunting can reduce a country’s gross domestic product by up to 3%. A study of developmental potential in the first 5 years of children’s lives in developing countries published in The Lancet shows stunted children earn 20% less as adults compared to non-stunted individuals. A study on the potential economic losses due to stunting in under-fives in Indonesia in 2013 by IPB showed that the national potential loss for stunting under-fives was around IDR 3,057 billion—IDR 13,758 billion or 0.04-0.16% of Indonesia’s total GDP. The potential economic loss due to stunting in children under five in Indonesia reaches IDR 1.7 million/person/year or IDR 71 million/person for 49 years (productive age 15-64 years) based on BPS-Statistics Indonesia 2014 data. (est)