Animal Proteins such as Milk Can Prevent Stunting in Children

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Professor of Public Health Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia (FKM UI), Prof. Dr. drg Sandra Fikawati MPH, explained, animal protein absolutely needed a child in the prevention of stunting.

According to Fika, animal protein contains complete essential amino acids, which play an important role in the growth process of children.

“Dairy products are one of the animal proteins that are considered most effective in reducing the risk of stunting, compared to other types of animal protein, such as eggs and meat,” said Fika who is also Deputy Chair of the Center for Nutrition and Health Studies at FKM UI in the 2022 National Nutrition Day webinar recently. this.

Because, milk It can also help the body build muscle and bone tissue while in the recovery phase. And, milk also contains growth hormone.

“This is also very important when we talk about stunting,” he said.

Even so, continued Fika, it is still important to fulfill the intake of animal protein and other varied types of food.

“One of the advantages of milk compared to other animal proteins is that it is in a liquid form. So it is easy for children to eat and easy for mothers to prepare because they do not need special handling,” he said.

Fika explained that the government targets the prevalence of stunting in 2024 to be 14 percent. In order to achieve this target, a decrease of 2.7 percent per year is needed.

“Regarding intervention stunting After the birth, the Minister of Health in January 2022 said that his party would continue to encourage exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Then, it will also increase education regarding nutritional coverage for complementary foods for breast milk (MPASI), especially animal protein,” he said.

Currently, the consumption of animal protein in the community is still low. The reason, said Fika, is the first lack of knowledge about nutrition and mother’s education.

Second, the low level of maternal empowerment. Third, dietary restrictions.

“The influence of prices implies the important role of government policies to increase the accessibility and affordability of protein in poor countries,” he said.

He appealed to the community to continue to give their children milk even though they have been separated from the breastfeeding period. Apart from children, said Sandra, adults should also consume milk.

“The benefits of milk for humans have also been conveyed in several holy books. So, there is no reason if we don’t want to give milk to children. Even as adults, milk becomes very important,” he concluded.

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