New SEANUTS II findings

The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS II) released new findings, showing that dairy at breakfast is related to improved children's diet quality across Southeast Asia. The additional study found that children who included dairy into their breakfast had significantly higher daily intakes of essential micronutrients, particularly calcium and vitamin D.

SEANUTS II follows SEANUTS I, which was presented in 2012. Overall, this second study shows that stunting and anaemia still exists in Southeast Asia, particularly among younger children. However, among older children, there is a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Additionally, most children do not meet the average needs of calcium and vitamin D intake and show vitamin D insufficiency. This ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition highlights the need for targeted nutritional interventions and educational programmes. The additional findings of SEANUTS II indicate that a breakfast with dairy can play a role in increasing the daily micronutrient intake of children.

^{Reference
Mikulic, N.; et al. Dairy Consumption at Breakfast among Southeast Asian Children: Associations with Nutrient Intake from the South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II (SEANUTS II). Nutrients 2024, 16, 3229.}

Rolf Bos, director FrieslandCampina global nutrition research: “These findings show that children who consumed dairy at breakfast had a significantly higher daily micronutrient intake of vitamin A, B12 and D and calcium, compared to children without dairy in their breakfast.”

The results from SEANUTS will help FrieslandCampina develop better, more affordable products that contribute to the nutritional needs of children and set up programmes to promote a well-balanced diet and active lifestyle in collaboration with local authorities, health workers, and schools.

Key findings from SEANUTS II include:

• Triple burden of malnutrition: despite ongoing efforts, children in Southeast Asia continue to face the triple burden of malnutrition - undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. SEANUTS II results highlight that dietary intake of both calcium and vitamin D is of concern among children, with more than 70 percent failing to meet the daily estimated average requirements.
• Increased daily nutrient intake: the focused breakfast study shows that children who consume a portion of dairy at breakfast have a 1.6 to 2.6 times higher daily intake of calcium and 1.6 to 4.4 times higher daily intake of vitamin D compared to those who do not include dairy in their morning meal. In addition to these key nutrients, the daily intake of vitamins A and B12 was also significantly higher among children that included dairy in their breakfast across all countries studied.
• Nutrient-dense breakfast: across the board, children who consume dairy at breakfast show significantly higher intakes of vitamins A, B12, D, and calcium at the breakfast occasion, though the specific nutrient increases vary by country.
• Low dairy consumption rates: the study indicates that only about 1 in 4 children aged 2-12 years old consume dairy at breakfast. Younger children (aged 2-6 years old) are more likely to consume dairy in the morning compared to older children (aged 7-12 years old). Typically, those who do consume dairy have about one portion, equivalent to one glass of milk.

About SEANUTS II

The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II (SEANUTS II) is a comprehensive study conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, involving 13,933 children aged six months to 12 years. Participants were recruited from both urban and rural areas, with data collected between 2019 and 2021 by local mobile teams. The study was designed by leading universities and research institutes in each country, supported by expert teams. A focused study on breakfast, based on SEANUTS II data, investigated the relation of a breakfast with dairy on the nutrient intake, using a one-day 24-hour dietary recall and sociodemographic questionnaires.

SEANUTS II was commissioned and sponsored by FrieslandCampina and conducted in partnership with the University of Indonesia (Indonesia), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (Malaysia), Mahidol University (Thailand), and the National Institute of Nutrition (Vietnam). The initial SEANUTS I study was conducted in 2010 and 2011.