The results of a large-scale nutrition survey SEANUTS II
Good nutrition plays a vital role in supporting childhood growth and development. At FrieslandCampina we aim to make impact with healthy nutrition. That’s why we initiated a second large nutritional study in Southeast Asia, called SEANUTS II (Southeast Asian Nutrition Surveys).
Research for a positive impact on society
Scientists studied the nutritional status, dietary intake and lifestyle behaviors of nearly 14,000 children children aged 6 months to 12 years in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The recently completed study highlights an important issue known as the ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition. This is the coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight & obesity. The video below shows the key results from the large-scale research on the nutrition and health status of children.
Dairy contributes
Further analysis of the SEANUTS data from 10,299 children aged 2 to 12 shows that dairy consumption has a clear positive impact on the intake of important micronutrients. Children who consume dairy products more frequently have significantly higher daily intakes of calcium and vitamins A, B12, and D.
Relationship between dairy consumption and intake of micronutrients
Children who regularly consume dairy are better supplied with essential nutrients than peers who consume little or no dairy.
And this is relevant, because earlier SEANUTS analyses already showed that the micronutrient intake—particularly calcium and vitamin D—continues to be deficient. About 70% of children fall short of the local recommendation for calcium, and more than 84% do not meet the recommended intake for vitamin D.
Healthier diets
The analysis also shows that higher dairy consumption is associated with a generally healthier diet. Children who drank more dairy consumed on average 1.7 to 2.5 fewer portions per day of so‑called “extra foods,” such as snacks and sweetened beverages, depending on the country. These findings demonstrate that higher dairy consumption not only contributes to better micronutrient intake but is also associated with a more balanced and healthier daily diet.
Low dairy consumption in Southeast Asia
Only 24 percent of children in Indonesia, 17 percent in Malaysia, 23 percent in Thailand, and 8 percent in Vietnam meet local recommendations for dairy intake. Older children (7–12 years) in particular consume little milk; less than 10 percent of them achieve the recommended amount.
Few children meet local dairy-intake recommendations in Southeast Asia.
References
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- Associations between Dairy Consumption and Nutrient Intake in Southeast Asian Children: Findings from the Southeast Asian Nutrition Surveys II (SEANUTS II); Mikulic et al, Nutrients 2025, 17, 3740
- South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) II – a multi-country evaluation of nutrition and lifestyle indicators in children aged 12 years and below: rationale and design; Cambridge University Press, 19 April 2024
- Dietary intakes, nutritional and biochemical status of 6 months to 12-year-old children before the COVID-19 pandemic era: the South East Asian Nutrition Survey II Indonesia (SEANUTS II) study in Java and Sumatera Islands, Indonesia, Cambridge University Press, 7 January 2025
- Triple burden of malnutrition among Malaysian children aged 6 months to 12 years: current findings from SEANUTS II Malaysia, Cambridge University Press, 7 November 2023
- South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II (SEANUTS II) Thailand: triple burden of malnutrition among Thai children aged 6 months to 12 years, Cambridge University Press, 22 January 2024
- Triple burden of malnutrition among Vietnamese 0·5–11-year-old children in 2020–2021: results of SEANUTS II Vietnam, Cambridge University Press, 28 May 2024
Key findings SEANUTS
Read more about useful insights of SEANUTS II on the nutrition and health status of children.
References
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- Global Nutrition Report 2021. Available at:
https://globalnutritionreport.org/reports/2021-global-nutrition-report/executive-summary/.
Accessed on 1 Dec 2021. - Soliman A, De Sanctis V, Alaaraj N, Ahmed S, Alyafei F, Hamed N, et al. Early and long-term consequences of nutritional stunting: From childhood to adulthood. Acta Biomed. 2021;92(1):1–12.
- Sahoo K, Sahoo B, Choudhury A, Sofi N, Kumar R, Bhadoria A. Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2015;4(2):187–92.
- World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight. Available at:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Accessed on 8 June 2022. - Harkness LS, Bonny AE. Calcium and vitamin D status in the adolescent: Key roles for bone, body weight, glucose tolerance, and estrogen biosynthesis. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2005;18(5):305–11.
- Kotecha P V. Nutritional anemia in young children with focus on Asia and India. Indian J Community Med. 2011;36(1):8–16.
SEANUTS at a glance
Do you want to learn more on the impact of the first SEANUTS? Or do you want to know how many children participated and what was measured?
Nutritional information
The study aims to provide up-to-date information on the nutritional status, dietary intake, and lifestyle behaviours of children in the Southeast Asian region.13,933 children in Southeast Asia
In total, 13,933 children, aged six months to 12 years, were recruited from urban and rural schools, community health centres and sub-district administrative organisations.Leading universities
Principal Investigators from leading universities in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, together with their expert teams and local mobile field teams, are responsible for the study design and data collection.Growth & development
Good nutrition plays a vital role in supporting childhood growth and development. That’s why we share our scientific insights with governments and health institutes, set up education programs and develop nutrition products that meet local needs.Meet nutritional needs
Results of SEANUTS I led to development of dairy products that meet the nutritional needs of children, initiation of school milk programs, better partnering with governments as well as promotion of a well-balanced diet and active lifestyle.Broad scope of research
SEANUTS II also looks at dairy intake, physical fitness levels, blood analysis and the impact of COVID, next to measuring nutritional status, dietary intake, and environmental circumstances.
My dream is to break the vicious circle of poverty and poor nutrition
FrieslandCampina announces the results of large-scale nutrition survey SEANUTS II
Malnutrition is still a huge challenge among children in Southeast Asia
