The Faculty of Animal Science (FAS) UGM participated in efforts to help prepare a healthy generation through the Seminar on the Promotion of Animal and Vegetable Protein Consumption for Healthy, Growing and Smart Children, at the FAS UGM auditorium on Saturday (7/9). This event is a collaboration between FAS UGM and the Indonesian Children Care Community (IC3) and is included in the series of Lustrum X events at the FAS UGM.
“Indonesia is faced with various problems and challenges. The first challenge is the health of future generations. For this generation to be healthy, healthy food is needed. The role of education is very important, awareness about healthy food must be campaigned together. FAS UGM is one of the parties that plays a role in producing high quality livestock food products, namely meat, eggs and milk which, if consumed, will support one’s growth and development,” said the Dean of FAS UGM, Prof. Dr. Ir. Ali Agus, DAA., DEA., IPU as the Chair of IC3 and Dean of FAS UGM when giving a speech at the event.
Ali continued, the second challenge is the busy schedule of parents who pay less attention to children’s food intake. “Parents must pay attention to the food that is given to children, not only based on the child preference. Therefore, the target of this event is mothers who are the front guard in developing their children,” Ali said.
Consumption of animal and vegetable protein, Ali continued, will make child growth and development normal so that it can become a leader in society and the country. The problem faced at this time is the number of children who experience stunting. Children who are stunted get sick easily and experience interference at the level of intelligence. “We are facing a serious problem, if we are not careful we can lose generations to come,” Ali added.
Head of the New Technology, Bioterrorism, and Food Defense Food Inspection Inspection Section of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency, Fitrianna Cahyaningrum, SP., M.Gz, who was also present at the event said, based on research results, 30% of toddlers under 2 years experienced stunting. “This figure is above the WHO standard on the number of stunted children, which is 20%,” Fitrianna said.
Fitrianna added, the stunting condition arises because of the lack of protein consumption. “Nationally, the number of population with sufficient protein status is 46.5%. What should concern us is the adequacy of protein in someone aged 13-18 years because at that age requires the highest percentage of protein. This age is an early productive phase and for prospective mothers, is an early phase of childbearing age,” Fitrianna explained.
According to Fitrianna, animal protein is important to prevent stunting because it is a complete source of amino acids. However, other sources of nutrition are still needed.
For this reason, Fitrianna continued, improving public health requires cooperation from various parties. The government needs to make policies related to community nutrition by embracing stakeholders and business actors.
Consumption of Protein in Children and the Role of Parents
The seminar presented 3 speakers, namely Dr. dr. Emy Huriyati, M. Kes (nutrition expert at the Faculty of Public Health and Nursing UGM), dr. R.A. Arida Oetami, M. Kes (Head of DIY Provincial Women’s Empowerment Service), and Prof. dr. Mohammad Juffrie, Sp.A (k), Ph.D. (pediatrician, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health and Nursing UGM).
Dr. dr. Emy Huriyati, M. Kes said, fulfilling the needs in the first thousand days of a child’s life plays an important role. “If the nutritional needs, especially protein are not met in this phase, will have a long-term impact,” Emy said.
Emy explained, food from livestock in the form of meat, milk, and eggs contained essential amino acids that were indispensable in children’s growth, preventing stunting, and building children’s intelligence. In addition, animal protein also contains vitamin B12 which helps the growth of the brain, nerves, and prevent birth defects for the fetus.
Head of DIY Provincial Women’s Empowerment Service – dr. R.A. Arida Oetami, M. Kes explained, children’s nutritional intake is very dependent on parenting patterns. Some factors that influence include the ability to provide protein food, level of knowledge, psychological maturity, behavior, and understanding of the role of parents, especially mothers.
Prof. dr. Mohammad Juffrie, Sp.A (k), Ph.D, a pediatrician at the UGM Faculty of Public Health and Nursing, explained that children’s development goes hand in hand with their growth. According to him, there is a strong interaction between genetic factors, nutrition, and mother’s behavior towards child development.
“So make it a habit for children to eat nutritiously, have physical activity, and communicate with family, not only play by themselves,” he concluded. (Nadia)