Energy and protein intakes are associated with stunting among preschool children in Central Jakarta, Indonesia: a case-control study

Abstract

Introduction: Stunting is a major nutritional problem in Indonesia. The prevalence of stunting in DKI Jakarta province was relatively high at 27.5% in 2013 and 17.7% in 2018. This study aims to describe nutrient intakes of children aged 25-30 months and to determine the proportional differences in nutrient intakes between stunting and normal children in Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Methods: A case-control study with a total sample of 121 children aged 25-30 months was conducted in Gambir and Sawah Besar sub-districts, Central Jakarta, where the prevalence of stunting was high. All children were exclusively breastfed for at least four months and had similar socio-economic levels. Data collected included height measurement, questionnairebased interview, and 24-hour food recall. T-test and chi-square test were used to investigate the differences between two groups and logistic regression was used in multivariate analysis. Results: Factors associated with stunting were energy intake (AOR=6.0; 95% CI=1.0-35.0) and protein intake (AOR=4.0; 95% CI=1.1-15.5) after controlling for fat, carbohydrate, vitamin C, iron, and zinc intakes. The percentage of children with energy intake below the recommendation was much higher in stunted children (86.1%) compared to normal children (43.5%). Similarly, the percentage of children with protein intake below the recommendation was very much higher among stunted children (30.6%) compared to 8.2% in normal children. Conclusion: Children who lacked energy and protein intakes were at a higher risk of stunting than children who had sufficient intakes. Macronutrient intakes are important and should be consumed in sufficient quantities every day to prevent stunting.

Protein-Energy Nutritional Status of Moderately Low Protein Intake-Sago Diets Compared to Sufficiently Protein Intake-Rice Diets in Well-Nourished Lowlanders in Papua, Indonesia

“…Macronutrient intakes are important and should be consumed in sufficient quantities every day to prevent stunting. 21 Inadequate energy and protein intake in our population study can be the risk of having stunting on their children. Height among our participants showed that their height was comparable to the highlanders of Papua New Guinea.…”

Family Eating Behavior of Stunting Children in Silo District, Jember Regency during Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Consumption of food sources of protein is associated with the incidence of stunting. Various studies have shown that stunting events are related to inadequate protein intake [14], [15]. Animal side dishes provide protein with higher bioavailability than plant-based side dishes [16].…”

OXTR Gene mRNA Expression is Correlated to Prosocial Behavior of Children in the Golden Generation Program of Nusa Tenggara Barat

“…( 21) Various treatments provided in the GEN NTB program, that are given to the mother and their newborn until the babies reached 1000 day, are important for personal and social development for the children, and not only intented for the physical and fitness development of the children. (22)(23)(24)(25)(26) A breastfeeding process will assist the formation of neurotransmitters in the form of tryptophan as the raw material for making neurotransmitters such as catecholamines and serotonin for the babies. Both neurotransmitters contribute to the focus of attention and maintain emotions and prosocial behavior in children.…”