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Stunted, overweight generation
Indonesia is facing the double burden of malnutrition that refers to the coexistence of both undernutrition and overnutrition affecting its childrenâs health
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Indonesia is facing the double burden of malnutrition that refers to the coexistence of both undernutrition and overnutrition affecting its children's health.
With a third of children under five stunted, the future capacity of the nation's workforce is compromised, according to the World Bank (WB).
A WB report released recently shows 36 percent of children under the age of five in Indonesia suffer from stunted growth (shorter than expected for their age).
This means stunting rates are lower in Vietnam (23.3 percent) and the Philippines (32 percent). According to the report, Indonesia is equal to much poorer countries, such as Myanmar (35 percent), Cambodia (40.9 percent) and Laos (44 percent).
The report, Adjusting to Pressures, shows that the country has high wasting rates (weight is less than expected for height), second only to Timor Leste and higher than other poorer Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.
However, the WB noted that Indonesia also has the highest number of overweight children, with 12.2 percent facing overnutrition, and the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases in later life greatly increased.
This is much higher than Malaysia, which has higher income, with only 6 percent.
'In Indonesia, [the double burden of malnutrition] is likely to seriously undermine efforts to reduce poverty as well as erode economic growth,' the report says.
Indonesia's economy has grown by over 6 percent since 2010.
Minarto, the Health Ministry's nutrition management director said on Wednesday that the main cause of the double burden of malnutrition was incorrect feeding practices.
Stunted growth was the result of maternal malnutrition commonly found in the country's poorest areas.
'Infants up to 6 months old should be exclusively breastfed. There are a lot of mothers who feed their babies formula milk or other food before the babies are 6 months old. This significantly affects their stamina and intelligence,' he said.
WB data shows that in 2010, only 15 percent of babies were breastfed exclusively for 6 months, less than the 32 percent reported in 2007. Data from 2002, reports that 40 percent were breastfed.
He added that children under the age of five were also often introduced to instant noodles by their parents, exacerbating malnutrition.
'If children are not introduced to nutritious food while they are young, they show no interest in fruit or vegetables in the future, and this causes obesity,' Minarto said.
He added that research had found that stunted children have lower intelligence compared to children that have enough nutrition.
'In the future it would certainly affect their income and welfare, which of course will have an impact on the country,' Minarto said.
To improve nutrition, the Health Ministry had carried out a program called First 1,000 Days for the Country, which focused on providing better nutrition for mothers and babies in their first two years of life.
Sukirman, a nutrition professor at the Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) school of Human Ecology said that stunted children were also likely to become obese.
The rising number of people with obesity was also caused by the improvement of technology in processing food, transportation, as well as advertising.
'Food that contains a lot of sugar and fat, for example cakes and donuts, are now affordable and available to people with a low income, so now obesity no longer only affects the rich,' Sukirman said.
'People also no longer walk as much and they are easily distracted by television advertisements promoting high-calorie drinks and food.'
Minarto said the government plans to reduce the percentage of stunted children to 32 percent in 2015.
'We can still fix this problem, as long as we ensure these children, especially those live in the poor areas, eat nutritious food and have a good education,' he said.
