The Importance Of A Healthy Breakfast To Print A Glorious Generation

Source of Healthy Breakfast (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Breakfast is an important activity in the morning. To prepare a healthy and strong future generation, attention is needed from various aspects such as education, parenting to nutritional intake.

A simple thing that can be done to make great children print is to provide a healthy breakfast. Good nutritional intake is needed to support children's physical and cognitive performance, especially before learning activities. One of the nutrients needed is animal protein, which can be found in various animal food sources such as meat, fish eggs, chicken and milk.

However, the Ministry of Health's (Kemenkes) Riskesdas data in 2018 noted that the prevalence of malnutrition and undernutrition in children under five in Indonesia reached 17.7 percent.

In addition to malnutrition, the problem of children's breakfast habits in Indonesia is still minimal. Indonesia's FOOD PERGIZI data even records that 67 percent of children have not received a quality breakfast.

Professor of the Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. drg. Sandra Fikawati, MPH assessed that when children are not hungry, they can concentrate more and are less sleepy while studying at school. This way, they can absorb the lessons better and get a more balanced weight.

According to him, children who do not eat breakfast tend to increase the risk of children eating a lot and eating irregularly so that they are at risk for obesity. Therefore, a Healthy Breakfast Movement is needed, and it must be prepared before children return to school.

Furthermore, Prof. Fika said that one of the important nutrients can be obtained from milk. Milk contains a variety of important nutrients, ranging from protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Milk also contains a hormone that stimulates the growth factor IGF-1.

"IGF-1 is the most abundant in bone, and facilitates growth by increasing the absorption of amino acids, which are integrated into new proteins in bone tissue," said Prof. Fika, Sunday.

Research has found that high IGF-1 levels in 2-year-olds correlate with height and good milk intake. Not surprisingly, UNICEF states that milk/dairy products are an important part of children's diets, and it is recommended to give 1-2 glasses of milk per day for children aged 1-2 years.

Prof. Fika also emphasized that the benefits of milk are not limited to children aged 1-2 years. School children can also get the goodness of milk. The reason is, milk is practical and easy to prepare and consume, especially at breakfast

"Because of its liquid form, milk is very practical, easy to consume, and easy to digest or absorb," said Prof. fika.

Prevent Stunting

Meanwhile, the Team for the Acceleration of Stunting Prevention/TP2AK Stunting Deputy for Policy Support for Equitable Development and Human Development, Setwapres Suprayoga Hadi said that the government through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbud-Ristek) has launched a nutrition program for school children since 2016.

"Considering that there are still many children who do not have breakfast, this program can actually optimize children's nutritional intake, especially protein. This includes a program that will be continued by the Ministry of Education and Culture. In this case, breakfast at school," said Suprayoga.

Suprayoga said that this program has not yet become a national program and still prioritizes children living in food insecure areas, before it will be moved nationally.

Suprayoga emphasized the importance of caring from local and village governments. According to him, village funds can and are sufficient to provide breakfast for PAUD children.

"In addition to APBD funds, it can also come from APBS funds, to support efforts to provide breakfast to schools. Starting from the PAUD, Kindergarten, to elementary school levels," Suprayoga said.