National Nutrition Day 2022: Joint Action to Prevent Stunting and Obesity

(Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexels)
Indonesia celebrates National Nutrition Day every 25th of January and for 2022, the 62nd National Nutrition Day will be focusing on the theme, “Joint Action to Prevent Stunting and Obesity". This year, the campaign aims to create public awareness on the importance of being healthy and free from chronic malnutrition by consuming nutritious food.

In 2021, the country’s National Nutrition Day was held with the theme "Healthy Youth, Anaemia Free".

What is stunting?

Stunting is defined as the impaired growth and development of children which results from malnutrition. It is an unusual condition that affects growth, causing them to be shorter and different from their peers. Children are considered as stunted when their height-for-age is more than two standard deviations below the WHO Child Growth Standards median. Parents are often not aware of this condition because they would usually think it is a genetic problem.

How do you prevent stunting?

To prevent stunting, the government has been conducting awareness campaigns to educate the people. These campaigns are aimed at making them aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy diet, proper sanitation and access to clean water. Stunting should not be underestimated because it has many long-term impacts on children.

Impacts of stunting:
1. Decreased cognitive ability;
2. Susceptibility to sickness due to weak immune system;
3. Vulnerability to diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
4. Having lower levels of productivity in adulthood which makes it difficult for them to compete in the working world; and
5. Decreased blood flow to the fetus during pregnancy which negatively affects the growth of the uterus and placenta, so both mother and child are at risk of serious medical complications.

The various impacts caused by stunting need to be seriously considered as they may result in negative consequences in the future. Therefore, maintaining a proper diet should be a priority to prevent malnutrition.

Let’s eat nutritious food and prevent stunting!