The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Pre-school children don’t get enough nutrients”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 05, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Pre-school children don’t get enough nutrients”

R. Sujatha

They need a balanced breakfast to stay alert: experts

Kids need 1,600 calories every day
Obese children should avoid health drinks

CHENNAI: Children in some schools in the city now have the option of buying a health drink of their choice during school hours from vending machines. This would prevent them from going hungry until lunch hour, according to the organisation that has installed the machines.

The move to install vending machines that dispense health drinks came about after a survey of pre-school children by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau, a unit of Indian Council of Medical Research.

A. Lakshmanaiah, Deputy Director (Medical) of National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, who was involved in the community-based survey, said that though Tamil Nadu fared better than other States studied, even here the children were undernourished. The survey was done in low and middle income groups in the State but is a representative of the nutritional status of children in the State, he added.

The study found that pre-school children did not get sufficient amount of nutrients such as vitamin A, folic acid, iron and calcium, Dr. Lakshmanaiah said. In order to provide the nutrients, it was suggested that children be fed food rich in micronutrients.

Breakfast must

Doctors say that food broken down and digested over a period of several hours ensures a steady flow of energy. Sweetened beverages would only provide a spurt in energy levels.

“Eating breakfast at home is a healthy habit because a child gets a good mix of low and high glycaemic index foods and will have constant release of energy from the intestine into the blood as the food is slowly digested and absorbed,” said paediatrician Deepa Hariharan. “This ensures that the child remains energetic,” she pointed out.

“Glass of milk not enough”

Dietician Dharini Krishnan said it was not enough for children to have just a glass of milk before going to school. The attention level of such children is low and so is their potential to grasp what is taught in class.

Often children who have not had breakfast also drop off in the middle of class hours for short naps. An ideal breakfast would be including a little bit of cereal, protein, fruit and milk, she said.

According to diabetologist Vijay Viswanathan, a child between the age of 6 and 16 needs 1,600 to 1,800 calories every day. A traditional breakfast of two idlis, a cup of milk and egg provides 400 calories, enough to sustain a child until lunch hour, he said.

Nutrition experts agree that traditional south Indian food comprising pulses and rice, chutney and sambar with idlis will provide the necessary nutrition.

They also welcome homemade porridge that contains millets such as ragi and bajra, which are a rich source of protein, iron, calcium and fibre. But since the porridge is absorbed easily by the body the child would become hungry more quickly, they note.

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