Expert: No Vitamins Disappearing Instant Stunting In Pharmacies

JAKARTA - Pediatrician and Consultant for Nutrition and Metabolic Disease Novitria Dwinanda said that no vitamins sold in each pharmacy can eliminate stunting instantly in children.

"If there are vitamins, of course the government has distributed them for free like COVID-19 patients. Unfortunately, there are no vitamins for stunting. So there is no increase in height or eliminate stunting," said Novitria as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 13.

Novitria said stunting is a condition where children experience chronic malnutrition or infection that occurs for a long time. Because it is related to nutritional intake, stunting treatment is given through proper calorie administration.

Currently, the right calorie distribution is being echoed through the slogan "Isi Piringku" so that consumption of family nutritional intake is maintained, including the importance of providing animal protein such as eggs, fish meat, chicken meat or milk.

"That's why (compared with vitamins in pharmacies), now the government and the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), both recommend providing local food with the right amount. So there are no certain multivitamins," he said, working at the National Mother and Child Health Center.

According to him, it is better for each family to take preventive steps by meeting the needs of children's proteins according to their age. The way to find out how much calorie or protein intake can be consulted with cadres in the posyandu, according to the child's growth and development recorded in the book Maternal and Child Health (KIA). Measurements of growth and development recorded in KIA include height, weight up to the baby's head circumference.

On this occasion, he also asked parents not to be afraid to give fat to the filling of their children's plates. This is because fat is also needed by the child's body, even though the first thing that must be there is animal protein.

"Then help mothers and fathers who have children, take the initiative to measure their height, that's okay. (don't be afraid to reprimand), maybe the cadres who forget if they are not measured or klif. But because we have children, we must remind (cadres so that our children are measured regularly)," he said.