Micronutrients, one of the major groups of nutrients your body needs, are considered simple things that many frequently overlook but micronutrients, including vitamins and minerals, have a big impact on your health.

Take vitamin A, for example, many people think it is only required for the maintenance of normal vision, but in fact, it is also essential for maintaining immune functions and cell growth.

So young people, including teenagers and working people, should be aware of the importance of the issue of micronutrients because being healthy can keep them productive.

The issue of micronutrient supplement programs for teenagers or adolescent girls was raised in a press conference titled “Dissemination of lessons learned under the integration program for micronutrient supplements for reducing mortality and morbidity in Indonesia in East Java and East Nusa Tenggara” in Jakarta on Jan. 14.

The issue came to the fore when a young female journalist posed a question at the event, “Many teenagers are not so familiar with micronutrients. Can you give some insights into them?”

Health Ministry Public Health Director General Dr. Kirana Pritasari said in her own words, micro means small. “There are particular food substances, such as iron, which are contained in green vegetables. To meet the iron needs for a pregnant woman she should consume large amounts of green vegetables, which is impossible. That’s why the large amount of green vegetables is made available in the form of a tablet or capsule,” she said.

There are medicines that can meet micronutrient needs, namely IFA (iron and B6 or folic acid). IFA is very important for pregnant women. “Vitamin B6 encourages the formation of the nervous system and maintains normal nerve functions. Lack of B6 will potentially lead to a baby being born having a weak brain capacity or disability,” she said.

Included in the list of micronutrients that are essential for pregnant women and children under 5, are vitamin A and zinc.

According to Kirana, pregnant women should adhere to IFA supplements for 90 days. “As found in many cases, however, this puts pregnant women off because of the boring routine of having to take it for 90 days.

“Besides, the IFA supplement can cause a side effect for some pregnant women. They feel nauseous and lose their appetite. If this continues, it will leave them unwilling to take a meal, which will pose hazards to fetal growth,” she said.

“They [the pregnant women] should be aware that IFA deficiency can cause anemia, which pregnant women sometimes do not realize, nor feel,” she said.

“This is the role that nutrient providers or midwives should play in providing information on the issue, which actually is already available in the standard check book of the pregnant women. If it is found that the HB of the pregnant woman is less than 11, she can be said to be anemic,” she said.

That means that she should be given the IFA tablets and consume balanced nutritious foods according to the needs of the pregnant woman, and have further medical checks.

Kirana underscores the importance of IFA supplement programs for adolescent girls in Indonesia, especially given the huge number of adolescents in the country. Currently, the number of adolescents in Indonesia is about 60 million and in the next several years, many of them will enter the workforce and become prospective mothers.

With the expected huge working group, the government has been conducting micronutrient programs for teenagers, which include a strategic one run through schools. “Schools are where the adolescents get together and through teachers they are introduced to and have micronutrients explained,” she said, adding that such programs are also held beyond the school.

“Teachers can take advantage of the students’ peers to encourage them to take the IFA,” she said.

Dr. Sri Kusyuniati, country director of Nutrition International, a global nutrition organization headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, shares Kirana’s view on the importance of micronutrient supplements for adolescents, saying Nutrition International believes that by helping someone to improve their level of health, it will make them more productive.

“So having adequate knowledge about micronutrients is important for teenagers, which until now remains a challenge,” she said.

Dr. Rita Damayanti, a lecturer from the University of Indonesia, says that older people are usually aware about how to maintain their health, but this does not apply to teenagers.

Despite having a vitamin, such as vitamin A, put in front of them, many of them may ignore it and not take it until a pushy and irritating teacher forces them to take it.

But what is important is making the students aware of the micronutrient intake for their health and them taking supplements conscientiously.

“This calls for creativity and innovation on the part of program designers to design the micronutrient supplement initiative for adolescent schoolgirls. We must realize this in order to take advantage of the demographic bonus,” she says.

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