JAKARTA - Clinical Nutrition Specialist from the Indonesian Clinical Nutrition Doctors Association Dr. Diana F. Suganda, M.Kes, SpGK said nutrition education in the family to prevent children from getting obese could start before their prospective parents get married.
This education also aims for prospective parents to have sufficient nutritional knowledge to be continued when a woman of prospective pregnant parents give birth and so on.
"Entering the MPASI phase, make sure parents understand that children need to eat in the form of balanced nutrition. Eating according to the needs is not the wishes of the child or the wishes of his parents," Diana said in a written statement, Sunday.
Diana reminded that the composition of balanced nutrition needed by children is in the form of carbohydrates, animal protein, and vegetable protein, as well as other micro nutritional substances. Make sure to eat according to your child's needs and the age group grows.
"In principle, eating with calorie needs according to the age group. Parents must understand this to avoid excessive calorie intake in children so as to avoid the risk of obesity," Diana said, quoting Antara, Sunday.
In addition to choosing the type of food, you should also pay attention to how to cook it. He advised parents to reduce cooking food by frying, for example, just one to two times a week.
The rest try to regulate how to cook by detuming, clear soup, pepes, roasting. According to Diana, all these methods are very effective in depleting the child's calorie intake.
Avoid processed foods and frozen foods, cans, snacks. Introduce children to fresh and processed foods themselves. Instead of eating nuggets, it's better to eat chicken, instead of sausages, it's better to cook packaged meat. Choose fresh foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables," said Dr. Diana.
Meanwhile, an endocrinological consultant pediatrician, dr. Frida Soesanti SpA(K) recommends, in order to prevent children from getting obese, parents need to monitor the child's growth and development since birth. Monitoring includes measurements of children's height and weight regularly, at least when they come for immunization.
When a child experiences an unnatural weight gain, make sure the proportion of his height is balanced.
Frida said that the criteria for obesity in children are different from for adults. In adults, the value of the body mass index (IMT) or BMI is determined by numbers. But in children, the growth curve is used because it takes into account the addition of height.
"If the child's weight is more than 120 percent, it includes obesity," he said.
Frida added that the handling of obesity in children requires the cooperation of all family members. According to him, understanding nutrition is important and at least parents must understand which foods are healthy and foods must be limited to children.
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