Asustainable development goal report released by the National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2017 revealed that Indonesia faced a serious double burden among its youths related to bad nutritional habits: stunting caused by undernourishment and obesity caused by overnutrition.

According to the Health Ministry’s 2013 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) data, among all Indonesian children aged under 5, 12 percent of them suffered from wasting (low body weight relative to one’s body height), while an additional 12 percent suffered from obesity. Meanwhile, during the same year, the ministry recorded 37 percent of those children suffered from stunted growth.

Youths who have both conditions do not get the balanced nutritional intake that they badly need due to a lack of awareness among both parents and children alike of what nutritional balance really means and its importance. The ministry discovered that children who were overweight also did not get their nutritional needs sufficiently met; they became obese after consuming too many nutritionally void snacks and sweets.

Malnutrition brings with it sinister health consequences. A professor at University of Indonesia’s School of Public Health (FKM UI), Endang L. Achadi, said stunting, for instance, could halt proper development of various vital organs in the body — such as the brain, heart and kidney. The underdevelopment of the brain caused by malnutrition, Endang added, would definitely decrease one’s intelligence level.

Malnutrition can also cause anemia, an illness where insufficient nutritional intake (specifically, of zinc) causes individuals to underproduce hemoglobin (red blood cells).

On the other hand, according to Endang, obesity caused by excessive consumption of nutritionally void foods and beverages, which are typically high in salt, sugar and fat, increases one’s risk of developing non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart problems.

To address this issue, multistakeholder partnership involving online academic tutorial provider Ruangguru, food product company PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk (Indofood), as well as FKM UI have just launched a digital campaign to raise public awareness of the importance of balanced nutrition intake among Indonesian youths — specifically targeting students from seventh to 12th grades. They call the program Hidup Sehat Yuk! (Let’s Live Healthily!).

Indofood and FKM UI came up with an idea to educate teenagers on the basics of health and nutrition, such as the importance of balanced nutritional intake, because it affects all aspects of their development and the overall state of their health. The campaign also discusses anemia. Although mainly focusing on youngsters, especially teenage girls, who are at higher risk of developing anemia, the program also involves parents.

The educational program, which was previously conducted as one-sided live lecture sessions by Indofood and FKM UI, has taken a different approach this time from the way it was conducted before: through using a digital application, with a more interactive learning session and with innovative teaching methods to make the teenagers more enthusiastic in joining the campaigns.

The digital approach of conducting the public health campaign is also expected to reach a wider audience segment in a more efficient and rapid manner. In order to develop the digital content, Indofood and FKM UI have chosen to work with Ruangguru, a technology-based education content and academic tutorial provider, through its website ruangguru.com. It was founded by two Indonesians: Belva Devara, its cofounder and current CEO, as well as another cofounder and chief people officer, Iman Usman.

Both of them made it to Forbes magazine’s list of 30 successful businesspeople under 30 category in Asia.

By cooperating with Indonesian education technology startup Ruangguru, the campaign is sure to reach a wide audience rapidly and efficiently, considering that currently more than 8.5 million individuals are using tutorial services and accessing educational content through the website. The content contains educational videos, quizzes, summaries and examinations. By supervising their children in using the digital healthcare campaign tool, parents can also boost their knowledge about balanced nutrition and why it matters.

The three organizers of the public health campaign launched the digital application, accessible through ruangguru.com or the Ruangguru application available on the App Store and Playstore, on July 22 in the XXI Epicentrum theater in South Jakarta.

During the event, the organizers also introduced the campaign’s ambassadors, namely actor Iqbaal Ramadhan and content creator Gita Savitri, both of whom represent Indonesia’s young population and therefore could accelerate the campaign’s adoption among local teenagers. The launching event was attended by 500 participants, comprising students, teachers, parents as well as national media outlets.

The launching was opened by Gita, who explained to the audience facts about nutrition-related health problems that Indonesian teenagers currently faced. Then Iqbaal continued by explaining how to use the newly launched digital application.

Belva echoed Endang’s statements on the health consequences of malnutrition. He said Ruangguru had chosen to be involved in the project because the education sector was definitely tied to health, and no student could attend to his or her studies properly if they were unhealthy due to undernourishment or overnutrition.

He added that the campaign could help mitigate the malnutrition problem in Indonesia.

Indofood director Axton Salim said to combat stunting prevalence in Indonesia, intensive education through digital applications targeting Generation Z (or digital natives) should be conducted to reach these children from as early an age as possible.

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