Introducing Children to Fish Can Help Prevent Stunting

Parents can introduce their children to fish from an early age as it can help prevent stunting. However, unfortunately, Indonesian society tends to prefer consuming beef over fish. This was revealed by the National Population and Family Planning Board.

With the price of beef tending to be more expensive, people can choose fish that are cheaper and can help prevent stunting, such as catfish. The advantages of catfish in preventing stunting due to chronic malnutrition include containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids for the development of the eyes, brain, and nervous system, as well as having a complete amino acid composition.

As quoted from the Alodokter health page, catfish has a lot of nutrients needed by the body. "The nutritional content of catfish includes protein, fat, calcium, selenium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and several vitamins, such as vitamin A, B1, and B12," said Alodokter in its report, quoted on Friday (17/2/2023). In addition, catfish is also equipped with DHA and EPA, which are types of omega-3 fatty acids. Not only is it rich in nutrients that are easy to digest and absorbed by the body, and a source of vitamin D and calcium for bone growth, catfish is also one of the fish with low mercury content.

The low mercury content can help prevent the risk of stunting in children more optimally. This is because food high in mercury is at risk of causing damage to the nervous system, which is also at risk of causing various growth and development disorders in children. In addition, the protein content in catfish can also be a good source of energy to support daily activities for children. Protein also plays an important role in building and repairing body tissues, including muscles and the immune system, and is a component of various hormones and body enzymes.

In 100 grams of catfish, there is about 18 grams of protein, while the daily protein requirement for children under 4 years old is only 13 grams. So, by dividing this 100 grams of catfish into 3 meal times, parents can meet their little ones' daily protein needs.