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Danone Indonesia highlights importance of animal protein in preventing stunting
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arents and parents-to-be likely know the first 1,000 days of life is the most important period for children. From the moment of conception to their second birthday, this is a crucial period for development of brain, body and immune system.
To ensure optimal development, every child requires a sufficient amount of nutrition, which can be gained from a balanced and healthy diet. If this nutritional need is not met, the child is at risk of stunting.
Caused by malnutrition, stunting is defined by the World Health Organization as the impaired growth and development children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. This is most visible when the child has a lower height compared to peers in the same age group, though adverse health effects will result in irreversible issues such as impaired brain development.
In addition, the WHO also listed a number of consequences that result from stunting, including poor cognition and educational performance, low adult wages, lost productivity and an increased risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases in adult life.
Clinical nutritionist Dr. Nurul Ratna Mutu Manikam, M.Gizi, Sp.GK explained stunting was a problem of chronic malnutrition, which was caused by a lack of nutritional intake for a long period of time, resulting in impaired growth in children. In addition to physical form, she continues, children with stunting were at risk of having below-average levels of intelligence and were susceptible to disease.
“It’s important for parents to pay attention to proper nutritional intake with balanced nutrition as one of the key elements in optimizing the First 1,000 Days of Life [HPK], including for stunting prevention," she said.
In order to fulfill children's daily nutritional needs, a balanced nutritious diet rich in animal protein is very important for optimal growth and to help prevent and overcome stunting. In addition, a combination of iron and vitamin C is beneficial to increase the absorption of iron by up to two times, which can help improve brain growth and learning abilities, physical growth, motor and sensory development, as well as the immune system.
According to the 2022 Indonesia Nutrition Status Study (SSGI), Indonesia recorded a stunting prevalence of 21.6 percent for the year, an improvement from the previous year’s figure of 24.4 percent though still higher than WHO’s recommended rate of below 20 percent.
At the same time, Indonesia’s stunting problem is at a higher prevalence compared to other health issues, such as wasting/undernutrition at 7.7 percent, underweight at 17.1 percent and overweight at 3.5 percent.
In line with its One Planet One Health vision to ensure public health via food and beverages, Danone Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to support the Indonesian government’s efforts to reduce stunting across the country, particularly to achieve a national stunting rate of 14 percent by 2024.
One region of note is West Nusa Tenggara, which has the fourth-highest prevalence of stunting in the country at 32.7 percent.
Taking inspiration from the 2023 National Nutrition Day, Danone Indonesia held its Aksi Gizi Generasi Maju (Nutrition Action for the Advanced Generation) with the theme of Wujudkan Generasi Maju Bebas Stunting dengan Isi Piringku kaya Protein Hewani (Realizing the Advanced Generation Free of Stunting with Isi Piringku Rich in Animal Protein) from Feb. 9 to 10 in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Isi Piringku (My Plate’s Contents) is a program initiated by Danone Indonesia as a complete and balanced nutritional guide that supports the fulfillment of children's daily nutritional intake.
Through the event, Danone Indonesia aims to share good practice experiences of partnerships between the regional government and the private sector in educational efforts on stunting prevention and environmental hygiene in Lombok, especially for communities surrounding the Kebon Kongok Final Disposal Site (TPA) in West Lombok, NTB, where the pre-prosperous group oftentimes receives less attention, especially regarding nutritional education.
According to pediatrician Dr. Ananta Fittonia Benvenuto, M.Sc, Sp.A, children living in environments prone to infection, such as those around the TPA, need to consume food with balanced nutrition, rich in animal protein.
“This is important considering protein plays an important role in giving strength to the body's T cells or T lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell whose job is to fight infections, both bacteria and viruses that cause disease. If a child lacks protein intake, they will become weaker and more susceptible to disease. Therefore, it is important to consume food rich in animal protein so the child's immune system remains strong and optimally supports their growth and development,” he explained.
Danone Indonesia corporate communication director Arif Mujahidin said in the wake of the 2023 National Nutrition Day, the company wished to support the government in campaigning to prevent stunting with animal protein.
“One of [the support methods] is through the initiative we carried out in Lombok, which is an effort to increase public awareness on the importance of consuming food rich in animal protein, supplemented with a unique combination of iron and vitamin C to support children's growth and development. Through this initiative, we hope that more people from Lombok will be more educated on a diet with balanced nutrition in an effort to prevent stunting, so that Indonesian children can grow optimally to become the advanced generation,” he said.
West Nusa Tenggara Deputy Governor Dr. Hj. Sitti Rohmi Djalilah acknowledged the challenges faced by the province in its efforts to reduce the prevalence of stunting cases. Eradicating stunting, she continues, required the support and collaboration of all parties, not only the government but also the private sector and the community.
"For this reason, we really appreciate the various initiatives and contributions that have been made by Danone Indonesia for health and environmental development in West Nusa Tenggara that have a positive impact on public health. This is in line with the province of West Nusa Tenggara’s commitment to become one of the provinces in Indonesia that is suitable for children," she said.
Meanwhile, head of the West Nusa Tenggara Health Agency Dr. H. Lalu Hamzi Fikri, MM, MARS said the agency welcomed all initiatives and collaborations that have a positive impact on reducing the province’s stunting rate.
“We hope more stakeholders and other industry players can continue to actively engage in strategic and synergistic partnerships to support the Stunting Reduction Acceleration Program and support the creation of advanced generations of children in Indonesia."
Danone Indonesia Sustainable Development director Karyanto Wibowo noted with the long-term commitment embodied in the One Planet One Health vision, the company believed human health and environmental health are interrelated.
“Therefore, every initiative and innovation that Danone implements is always based on human health and environmental cleanliness. As was done in the series of commemorations of the National Nutrition Day, Danone Indonesia continues to strengthen collaboration with various parties and the local government continues to encourage initiatives in stunting prevention and environmental health. One of the methods is education, which can play a key role in changing people's behavior in efforts to prevent stunting and ensure a clean environment in West Nusa Tenggara, as well as the Lombok PET program, which is an implementation of the #BijakBerplastik commitment in the five Super Priority Destinations [DSP]," he said
"With a commitment to supporting nutritional improvement and achieving balanced nutrition in children, Danone Indonesia not only conducts various research and innovations on nutritious products specifically made to help address the challenges of nutritional needs in Indonesian children, but also continuously implements various initiatives and education regarding the importance of achieving balanced nutrition to realize the advanced generation. These efforts are made to ensure our presence can have a healthy impact on as many people as possible in the world, and especially to create Indonesia’s golden generation in 2045," Arif concluded.
