Indonesia is currently facing the double burden of malnutrition. While undernutrition is still a major public health problem, the prevalence of overnutrition is increasing. The objective of the South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) was to provide up-to-date data on nutritional status, food consumption and biochemical parameters related to nutrition for children aged 0·5-12 years. The SEANUTS study in Indonesia was conducted in a nationwide representative sample of 7·211 children using multistage cluster sampling based on probability proportional to size, stratified for geographical location, in forty-eight out of 440 districts/cities. The results show that the growth (weight for age, height for age, weight for height and BMI for age) of Indonesian pre-school-and school-aged children is below the WHO standards. The older the children, the more the deviation from the WHO standard curves. Underweight was more prevalent in rural areas (28·9 v. 19·2 %) and overweight/obesity was observed to be more widespread in urban areas (5·6 v. 3·2 %). The prevalence varied with age groups and sexes. The overall prevalence of stunting was 25·2 and 39·2 % in urban and rural areas, respectively. The prevalence of anaemia was nearly 55 % in children aged 0·5-1·9 years and ranged from 10·6 to 15·5 % in children aged 2-12 years. Fe deficiency was observed in 4·1-8·8 % of the children. The percentage of children with dietary intakes of energy, protein, and vitamins A and C below the Indonesian RDA was high and differed across urban and rural areas and age groups.

Stunting is highly prevalent in Indonesian children. The objective of this study was to identify the associations of stunting with morbidity, parental education and socioeconomic status (SES) in Indonesian children. The study population was part of the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS). A total of 2236 Indonesian children aged 0.5 to 12 years, who had participated in the SEANUTS, were included in this study. Stunting was defined as height for age Z-score (HAZ) ≤ −2 using WHO criteria and severe stunting as HAZ ≤ −3. Information on morbidity, parental education and family SES were collected by structured questionnaires. ANOVA was used for evaluating differences across groups, with or without correction for confounders. The results showed that the overall prevalence of stunting was 31.4%. HAZ in stunted children was associated with disease incidence, including frequency, parental education and family income. There were no significant differences in HAZ values in stunted children with one or more bouts of infectious, digestive tract or respiratory tract illnesses compared to stunted children with no reported illness. The prevalence of stunting in Indonesian children was high and was strongly associated with child morbidity, parental education and SES.

Despite a major decrease in undernutrition worldwide over the last 25 years, underweight and stunting in children still persist as public health issues especially in Africa and Asia. Adequate nutrition is one of the key factors for healthy growth and development of children. In this study, the associations between dairy consumption and nutritional status in the South East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) were investigated. National representative data of 12,376 children in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam aged between 1 and 12 years were pooled, representing nearly 88 million children in this age category. It was found that the prevalence of stunting and underweight was lower in children who consumed dairy on a daily basis (10.0% and 12.0%, respectively) compared to children who did not use dairy (21.4% and 18.0%, respectively) (p < 0.05). The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency and vitamin D insufficiency was lower in the group of dairy users (3.9% and 39.4%, respectively) compared to non-dairy consumers (7.5% and 53.8%, respectively) (p < 0.05). This study suggests that dairy as part of a daily diet plays an important role in growth and supports a healthy vitamin A and vitamin D status.

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Abstract Background: A  downward  trend  in  age  at  menarche (AAM) has been  leveling-off in industrialized countries. However, downward trends were still observed in developing countries. Objective: The aim  was to verify secular trend of AAM among Indonesian women and its associated factors. Methods: Data used were from Baseline Health Research (Riskesdas) 2010, a cross-sectional nationwide survey. Samples included were 79,026 women aged 10-59 years. History of menarche, socio-demographic variables, weight, height were taken. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were applied to measure proportion, central tendency measures. Results: Among adolescent 10-19years, overall proportion of menarche was 78.6%, ranging from 42.8%, 96.2%, 99.6% at age 12, 15, 18 years respectively. The overall mean AAM was 12.96 years. AAM was significantly younger in urban than rural areas. BMI was significantly lower among adolescense not experienced menarche yet than experienced menarche. AAM was younger in urban areas, higher socio-economic status, and varied among seven regions. Conclusions: Nutritional status was a significant factor associated with AAM. A downward trend in AAM was observed in Indonesian women. Key words: menarche, secular trend, body mass index, Indonesian woman Abstrak Latar belakang: Tren penurunan usia pada menarche telah meningkat di negara-negara industri. Namun, tren penurunan masih diamati di negara-negara berkembang. Tujuan: untuk memverifikasi tren sekuler usia menarche di kalangan perempuan Indonesia dan faktor-faktor terkaitnya. Metode: Data yang digunakan berasal dari Riskesdas 2010, survei nasional dengan desain cross-sectional. Sampel yang dianalisis adalah 79.026 perempuan berumur 10-59 tahun. Variabel yang dikumpulkan meliputi: riwayat menarche, sosio-demografis, berat badan, tinggi badan. Analisis deskriptif dan bivariat digunakan untuk mengukur proporsi, ukuran kecenderungan sentral. Hasil: Di antara remaja 10-19 tahun, proporsi keseluruhan menarche adalah 78,6 persen, mulai dari 42,8 persen, 96,2 persen, 99,6 persen pada masing-masing umur 12, 15, dan 18 tahun. Rata-rata keseluruhan usia menarche adalah 12,96 tahun. Usia menarche secara signifikan lebih muda di daerah perkotaan daripada pedesaan. IMT secara signifikan lebih rendah di antara remaja yang belum mengalami menarche dibandingkan dengan remaja yang sudah mengalami menarche. Usia menarche lebih muda di daerah perkotaan, status sosial ekonomi yang lebih tinggi, dan bervariasi di antara tujuh daerah. Kesimpulan: Status gizi adalah faktor signifikan yang terkait dengan usia menarche. Terjadi Tren penurunan usia menarche pada perempuan di Indonesia.   Kata kunci: menarche, tren sekuler, indeks massa tubuh, perempuan Indonesia

Micronutrient deficiencies and stunting are known as a significant problem in most developing countries, including Indonesia. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between micronutrient deficiencies and stunting with socioeconomic status (SES) among Indonesian children aged 6–59 months. This cross-sectional study was part of the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS). A total of 1008 Indonesian children were included in the study. Anemia, iron deficiency, vitamin A deficiency, vitamin D deficiency, and stunting were identified in this study. Structured questionnaires were used to measure SES. Differences between micronutrient parameters and anthropometric indicators with the SES groups were tested using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc test after adjusted for age, area resident (rural and urban), and sex. The highest prevalence of anemia, stunting, and severe stunting were found to be most significant in the lowest SES group at 45.6%, 29.3%, and 54.5%, respectively. Children from the lowest SES group had significantly lower means of Hb, ferritin, retinol, and HAZ. Severely stunted children had a significantly lower mean of Hb concentration compared to stunted and normal height children. Micronutrient deficiencies, except vitamin D, and stunting, were associated with low SES among Indonesian children aged 6–59 months.

Objective: Health and nutritional information for many countries in the South-East Asian region is either lacking or no longer up to date. The present study aimed to calculate length/height percentile values for the South-East Asian Nutrition Survey (SEANUTS) populations aged 0·5-12 years, examine the appropriateness of pooling SEANUTS data for calculating common length/height percentile values for all SEANUTS countries and whether these values differ from the WHO growth references. Design: Data on length/height-for-age percentile values were collected. The LMS method was used for calculating smoothened percentile values. Standardized site effects (SSE) were used for identifying large or unacceptable differences (i.e. j SSE j > 0·5) between the pooled SEANUTS sample (including all countries) and the remaining pooled SEANUTS samples (including three countries) after weighting sample sizes and excluding one single country each time, as well as with WHO growth references. Setting: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Subjects: Data from 14 202 eligible children were used. Results: From pair-wise comparisons of percentile values between the pooled SEANUTS sample and the remaining pooled SEANUTS samples, the vast majority of differences were acceptable (i.e. j SSE j ≤ 0·5). In contrast, pair-wise comparisons of percentile values between the pooled SEANUTS sample and WHO revealed large differences. Conclusions: The current study calculated length/height percentile values for South East Asian children aged 0·5-12 years and supported the appropriateness of using pooled SEANUTS length/height percentile values for assessing children's growth instead of country-specific ones. Pooled SEANUTS percentile values were found to differ from the WHO growth references and therefore this should be kept in mind when using WHO growth curves to assess length/height in these populations. KeywordsNutrition Survey Length/height Percentiles Children SEANUTSThe economic transition due to rapid industrialization observed over the last decades in South-East Asian countries has coincided with marked changes in dietary habits and lifestyle patterns that may have a significant impact on several health indices in these populations (1)(2)(3)(4) . Because of these lifestyle changes, growth and physical development in infants, children and adolescents can be influenced and this is reflected mainly in changes recorded over time in certain anthropometric indicators, namely body weight, stature (or recumbent length in infants) and BMI. In this context, according to data from the WHO (5,6) , the decreasing trend in the prevalence of stunting (by 43·4 million) and underweight (by 35·6 million) and the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity (by 4·4 million) observed over the last two decades among children in South-East Asia (including Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia) provide a strong indication of this impact.

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