Get to Know Stunting, Its Impact and How to Prevent it

In early 2023 the Indonesian Ministry of Health announced the results of the Indonesian Nutrition Status Survey (SSGI) which stated that the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia had fallen from 24.4% in 2021 to 21.6% in 2022. Even so, this figure still exceeds the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), which sets the stunting prevalence rate to be less than 20%.

What is Stunting?

According to WHO, stunting is a disorder of child growth and development caused by a lack of nutrition, infection, or inadequate stimulation.

In the definition of the Ministry of Health, stunting is the result of chronic malnutrition, and is a long-term problem of malnutrition which results in impaired child development, especially in infants aged 0-11 months, and toddlers aged 12-59 months. One of the indicators is the child's height which is lower or shorter than the standard age.

Characteristics of Children with Stunting

According to the Ministry of Health, children who experience edits have the following characteristics:

1. Children have shorter bodies than children of their age

2. Body proportions that tend to be normal but look smaller than their age

3. Low weight for his age

4. Delayed tooth growth

5. Delayed bone growth

6. The face looks younger than its age

7. At the age of 8-10 years the child becomes more quiet, does not communicate much by looking into the eyes (nonverbal communication)

8. The development of the child's body is hampered, such as late menarche (daughter's first menstruation).

9. Poor performance on learning attention and memory tests

10. Children are susceptible to various infectious diseases.

The Impact of Stunting on Children

Not only from a physical aspect—related to height—children with stunting also have the potential to be affected by their psychological condition. They are at risk of experiencing poor cognitive, motor and speech development. These conditions will have an impact on learning ability and academic achievement in school.

Another risk faced by children who are stunted is their ability to interact socially or socialize. This is because they often feel ashamed, insecure, or feel inferior.

Compared to normal children, children who experience stunting in the first two years of their life tend to experience psychological pressure in their teens. These include tendencies for anxiety and self-esteem disorders that are prone to depression, as well as displaying excessive behavior that leads to behavior that is contrary to normal conditions.

According to WHO, children with stunting have socio-emotional development problems such as lethargy, apathy and unresponsiveness. This is often caused by parents not fulfilling the stimulation and response they need for the brain to develop optimally.

Ultimately, children who lack psychosocial stimulation and parental response are at risk of experiencing delays or delays in social and emotional development. These conditions affect how children interact with other people, how they deal with their emotions, and how they react to events that occur around them.

Children with stunting have emotions that are difficult to control, due to the lack of stimulation and response from their parents during their development. Lack of consumption of good nutrition and lack of response and stimulation from parents to express children's emotions, provide understanding and make children understand how to accept themselves, this makes children confused and difficult to accept themselves, and difficult to express the emotions they feel.

Therefore, children with stunting express their emotions explosively, have difficulty communicating with peers and other people, and tend to have low learning abilities.

How to prevent stunting

1. Since pregnancy, mothers always improve nutrition and health, especially those that come from food intake.

  2. When the baby is born, right after giving birth, don't forget to do Early Breastfeeding Initiation (IMD). Breastfeeding is highly recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

3. Babies aged 6-24 months are given complementary food (complementary food for breast milk) that is of good quality and balance since they are 6 months old. Alsot, babies or children can get vitamin A capsules and complete basic immunization.

4. Always monitor the growth of infants and toddlers. This is to detect the presence or absence of growth disturbances.

5. Always implement Clean and Healthy Behavior (PHBS), which includes increasing access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and keeping the environment clean.

Apart from looking at the 5 stunting preventions above, we can monitor the growth and development of infants, toddlers and children with reference to the MCH Handbook (Maternal and Child Health) which is on the Ministry of Health's website.

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Editorial Team:

Muhammad Fajar, Arman Maulana, Riyan Gunawan, Alfiana Eka Putri, Afifah , Novita Fadilah Lubis, Astria Sena

 

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References:

- https://yankes.kemkes.go.id/view_artikel/728/konsep-dasar-dan-sejarah-perkembangan-ilmugizi

- Savira Nurcahya Putri , Rahmat Sudiyat,Agustus 2021 PENGEMBANGAN E-BOOK anti stunting (ebas) bagi kader kesehatan mengenai pencegahan stunting JURNAL KESEHATAN SILIWANGI Vol 2 No 1

- Mayar, F. & Astuti, Y. (2021). Peran Gizi Terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Perkembangan Anak Usia Dini. Jurnal Pendidikan Tambusai, 5(3), 9695-9704

- Alzahrani, M., Alharbi, M., & Alodwani, A. (2019). The Effect of Social-Emotional Competence on Children Academic Achievement and Behavioral Development. International Education Studies, 12, 141. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n12p141

- Amaranggani, P. P. A. (2018). Hubungan kejadian stunting dengan perkembangan sosial emosional anak prasekolah di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Kalasan Kabupaten Sleman [Thesis, Poltekkes Kemenkes Yogyakarta]. http://eprints.poltekkesjogja.ac.id/1685/ 1/SKRIPSI.pd