It has gone viral in discussions on social media regarding the phenomenon of stunting. What is it?

Stunting is a disorder that occurs in children under five years old, affecting their physical growth. Stunting occurs due to health issues in children caused by poor nutrition.

The symptoms of stunting are generally visible in children, with their height tending to be shorter than their peers. Despite indications of growth slowing down, stunting is a cause for concern.

Not only do stunted children have poor nutrition, but they also face issues such as:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2021, 148.1 million children under five years of age were too short for their age (stunting), 45.0 million were too thin for their height (wasting), and 37.0 million were too heavy for their height (overweight).

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the prevalence of stunting must be noticed. According to the Ministry of Health's Nutritional Status Study report, the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia decreased from 27.7 percent in 2019, 24.4 percent in 2021, to 21.6 percent in 2022, with the majority occurring in children aged 3–4 years. However, this figure still does not meet WHO standards, which aim for less than 20 percent.

Many things can be done to prevent stunting. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health website, some measures include meeting nutritional needs from pregnancy, providing exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, monitoring the child's growth and development, and maintaining environmental hygiene.

Meanwhile, to provide good nutrition during pregnancy, pregnant women are advised to consume healthy foods. According to information from the health site halodoc.com, there are seven foods, including tempeh and tofu, legumes, eggs, chicken liver, fish, fruits, and vegetables.

Codfish is a type of fish that can be consumed because it is high in protein and low in calories, fat, and carbohydrates. Although it has a lower omega-3 content than fatty fish, cod may contribute to a healthy heart and weight.

Meanwhile, codfish is safe to consume because, according to the California Office of Environment Health Hazard Assessment, codfish is one of the types of fish that is low in mercury or not exposed to a natural element found in rocks, coal, and soil.

It is also not exposed to human activities such as burning coal and mercury in gold mining, which can also introduce mercury into the environment.

One of the processed codfish dishes that can be consumed is in the form of soup. Here is a formulation that can be used to serve delicious msg free cod fish stock: salt, corn starch, cod fish powder, sugar, whey powder, soy sauce powder, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, i+g, yeast extract, dehydrated white onion powder, dehydrated garlic powder premium, lactic acid, disodium succinate, tuna flavor, salmon flavor, thyme oleoresin.

For those interested in learning more about the raw materials used or requesting the formulation, you can inquire on our website at ptsml.id or visit our Instagram account @ptsml_indonesia. #ptsmlIndonesia #rawmaterial #foodingredients #codfish #powder #codfishsoup  #stunting