(Unila): Stunting is a disorder of growth and development experienced by children due to malnutrition, repeated infections, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. The direct factors causing stunting are children’s consumption patterns, provision of colostrums and exclusive breastfeeding, and infections suffered by children.
With reference to the World Health Organization (WHO) reports 2023 that 6.3 million Indonesian children suffered from stunting disorders with a prevalence of around 21.5%, which was only a 0.1% decrease from the previous year.
This has motivated the students of Unila to create a nutritious product for children to prevent them from being stunting. The students were gathered in a group known as the Leguit team.
They are studying in different faculties, the Faculty of Agriculture (FP), Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA), and the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) Unila under the guidance of a lecturer, Diki Danar Tri Winarti.
The Leguit Team created an innovative biscuit product (complementary food) based on fortified cowpeas with kale and patin fish bones as a ration (food that has been specially prepared to meet nutritional needs) for stunting sufferers among toddlers and children. This biscuit refers to an innovative product to provide optimal nutrition and high health benefits.
Cowpeas are rich in vegetable protein and kale fiber which is very rich in antioxidants balanced with catfish bones as the main source of calcium. The legume biscuits or leguit products are made of nutritious ingredients attractive shape and delicious in tastes, so that they can stimulate children’s appetite.
The products constitute an innovation of biscuits from biodiversity, and utilizing waste as rations for toddlers with stunting and they also have the right amount of sweetness and an attractive shape and are deemed healthy and safe for children to consume.
Leguit products contain high levels of protein and calcium, followed by carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins that can help meet children’s nutritional needs.
“Some of the characteristics and uniqueness of the Babolamu Unila team’s products are that we try to promote the cultural heritage of the Lampung province and utilize local natural products as the main ingredients,” said Sidik.
In addition, Legume biscuit products also have a distinctive feature in the form of using catfish bone waste as flour. According to them, catfish bone waste has a 26% calcium content which is useful in improving good nutrition.
Although cowpeas and the various ingredients used have great potential, the Leguit team experienced obstacles when determining the time to make the product due to differences in schedules and time management, as well as repeated experiments to determine the right and appropriate recipe.
The Leguit team plans to share their knowledge of making the legume biscuits to the public and makes them aware of the benefits of Indonesian agricultural products, such as cowpeas and kale as notorious biscuit ingredients.
Stunting may occur during pregnancy or infancy and it needs to be shortly addressed. The high rate of stunting in Indonesia is our main concern. Indonesian kids should be free from stunting to make our next generations healthy, intelligent, and brilliant. [PR Team]
