What is the nutritional status of children in Southeast Asia?

SEANUTS II, which stands for South East Asian Nutrition Surveys II, is a follow-up to SEANUTS I, which took place in 2009 and 2010. The collection of all SEANUTS II data was completed in 2021 and carried out by a team of over 150 people, including university research teams.

The aim of the research is to gain insight into the nutritional status, dietary patterns, and lifestyles of these children. For us as a nutrition company, this provides valuable information to improve the nutritional status and lifestyle of children in these countries. The information is shared with governments, nutrition professionals, scientists, agencies, product developers, and consumers themselves. Campaigns, education, communication, and products can be better tailored to the specific needs of these children as a result. In addition to its scientific function, the project also aims to develop better products for this specific target group and strengthen communication about them. For example, can we enrich our products with certain vitamins and minerals? And given the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity, should we perhaps produce more products with even less sugar?

Crucial Age

Phase Most comparable research focuses on children under five years old or on adults; there is still little known about children between six and twelve years old. This is a crucial age phase where the foundation for long-term health is laid. It's a period in which they develop physically, cognitively, and socially, and begin to form dietary patterns and lifestyles.

Initial Results

We are currently in the process of analyzing the data from SEANUTS II. The first results are already known. For example, it appears that in Indonesia, more children are too small for their age compared to the other countries, which may indicate stunted growth due to malnutrition. On the other hand, in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, we observe a shift from malnutrition to relatively high rates of overweight and obesity. This may indicate an increase in unhealthy eating habits and a lack of physical activity. Another result is that nearly half of the children, except in Thailand, have a vitamin D deficiency, despite sufficient sunlight in these countries. It also turns out that the intake of calcium is very low for many children. Finally, the preliminary results show that many children do not run, play outdoors, walk, cycle, or engage in sports enough.

Eating a good breakfast

Further analysis of the data focuses on the children's breakfast: do they eat breakfast daily and what does their breakfast look like? Do the children drink milk during breakfast? With the results of SEANUTS II, we aim to raise awareness among children and their parents about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits, including drinking milk to get the necessary nutrients every day.