According to a recent South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) report on Malaysian children, it was found that one in 20 children were underweight while one in five were obese or overweight.
“Overall, our children carry the burden of dual malnutrition; this means there are both cases of under and overnutrition, but overnutrition is much more prevalent comparatively,” explained Professor Dr Poh Bee Koon, Head of the Nutritional Sciences Programme at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Principal Investigator for SEANUTS Malaysia, during a discussion on the implications of worrying health status of Malaysian children organised by Dutch Lady Malaysia.
It has been found that stunting is most prevalent among urban boys and girls six to 10 months; and among rural boys and girls from one to 3.9 years and seven to 12 years respectively.
More worrying is that a high proportion of school-aged children from seven to 12 years reported low physical activity, and that overweight and obesity were most prevalent among urban boys and girls as well as rural boys.
“Most of our children are increasingly leading a sedentary lifestyle with decreasing physical activities outdoor or under the sun. This is a worrying trend,” said Dr Mehander Singh Nahar, a sports and physical educator from the Ministry of Education. “The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children and youth aged five to 17 should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily.”
The SEANUTS report findings also revealed that nearly half the children in both urban and rural areas suffered from Vitamin D deficiency. Dr Yong Junina Fadzil, Consultant Paediatrician, said that “children need Vitamin D for bone growth and development as it helps to absorb calcium. When the sun’s UVB radiation shines on skin, the bodies will naturally make Vitamin D.”
Dr Junina advised parents to encourage children to play outdoors to get more sunlight and natural Vitamin D. Even so, she added that “although sunshine is the source of Vitamin D, diet is of course the source of calcium.”
When asked if overweight or obese children should still drink milk, Dr Junina explained that “the growing child still needs calcium and other vital nutrients, and milk is one of the sources of it.
“Depending on the child’s lifestyle and daily nutrient intakes, you can opt to switch from full cream milk to skim milk or low fat milk. If the child is overweight, limit the recommended servings to three glasses per day and ensure that he or she gets a wide variety of nutritious foods too,” Dr Junina added.
In his concluding remarks, Rahul Colaco, Managing Director of Dutch Lady Malaysia, expressed that “by initiating this discussion among parties who have the health of Malaysian children at their hearts, we hope to generate awareness and more conversations on the topic for parents, healthcare professionals and even policymakers, so that they can jointly take proactive measures towards improving our children’s health.”
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