4 Important signs when a child has a good nutritional status. anything, huh?

All parents want their children to grow and develop well until they are adults. For that, you must ensure that the child's nutrition is well fulfilled. This is closely related to the nutritional status of children. If the child's nutritional status is good, then the body's health will be maintained accompanied by normal body growth. Then, has your little one had a good nutritional status so far? Actually, what are the signs that indicate a child's nutritional status is good?

What is good nutrition?

Similar to the name, good nutrition is a condition of nutritional status that is in good condition, aka normal. Children who have normal nutritional status, of course, will have a body mass index or BMI (known in English as Body Mass Index or BMI) which is normal as well.

A child who is very thin, very short, or even very fat, is an example of a child whose nutritional status is not normal. Children who are well nourished, of course, will have a balanced weight and height.

However, the assessment by BMI cannot fully be used to assess the good nutritional status of children. The BMI method, by comparing weight and height, is more often used to determine nutritional status for adults.

Meanwhile, in children, BMI is considered inaccurate to determine whether the child's nutrition is normal or not. Not without reason, because the age of children is a period of growth that tends to quickly experience changes in height and weight.

So, the ratio of height to weight is not quite right. Moreover, children's growth and development is also seen based on their age group. Therefore, BMI is not the only indicator to find out your little one's nutrition.

Source: Inch Calculator

Assessment of good nutritional status in children

If you want to find out the nutritional status of a child is good or not, a special measurement is usually used using a chart involving several indicators. For children aged 0-5 years, use the 2006 WHO chart (cut off z score).

Meanwhile, for children over the age of 5, the possibility of a good nutritional condition can be measured using the CDC 2000 rule (percentile measure). The percentile is used to describe the child's BMI score. Children are said to have good nutrition if they are in the normal category for each measurement with a child growth chart (GPA).

To find out that your little one has been given a good nutritional intake, there are several indicators that must be seen, namely:

• weight based on height
• weight by age
• height by age
• BMI based on age

Well, a child with good nutrition must show that he is within the normal range for these four indicators. The following is the range of normal category values ​​for each indicator:

• BB / U: ≥-2 SD to 3 SD
• TB / U or PB / U: -2 SD to 2 SD
• BB / TB or BB / PB: -2 SD to 2 SD
• BMI: 5th percentile - <85th

To make it easier and faster to find out the nutritional condition of your child, you can measure the child's height and weight at the nearest health service. This is because, unlike the adult body mass index which has a special formula, the nutritional status of children has its own complicated calculations.

Routine monitoring related to the health condition and development of children, can be done at any health service. Be it posyandu, puskesmas, clinic, or hospital.

Various signs that the child's nutritional status is good

Not a few parents are worried about their child's growth and development. Actually, you don't need to worry. In addition to knowing directly from routine checks with doctors, at posyandu, and puskesmas, you can assess your child's nutritional status yourself.

The following are signs that are shown when the child's nutritional status is normal:

1. Have a normal weight and height

Weight and height are important in determining the nutritional status of children. Knowing the child's weight and height will definitely help you to assess whether or not the child has had good nutrition so far.

According to the Indonesian Ministry of Health, the following are the average weight and height that are considered normal in each age group of children:

Weight

• 0-6 months: 3,3-7,9 kg
• 7-11 months: 8.3-9.4 kg
• 1-3 years: 9.9-14.3 kg
• 4-6 years: 14.5-19 kg
• 7-12 years: 27-36 kg
• 13-18 years: 46-50 kg

Height

• 0-6 months: 49,9-67,6 cm
• 7-11 months: 69.2-74.5 cm
• 1-3 years: 75.7-96.1 cm
• 4-6 years: 96.7-112 cm
• 7-12 years: 130-145 cm
• 13-18 years: 158-165 cm

2. Does not get sick easily

Children with good nutritional status will have good health status as well. This is because the intake of diverse and quality nutrients will make your little one's immune system stronger.

As a result, the child's body becomes more immune to disease-causing infections. In fact, various studies have proven that children who have poor nutritional status are definitely very susceptible to various infectious diseases.

One of these studies was published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE. The study stated that children with poor nutrition had fewer white blood cells than children with good nutrition.

In fact, these blood cell components act as a defense force to maintain a healthy body. In addition, obesity also indicates that children do not have good nutrition.

In this case, the fat deposits in the child's body tend to be excessive so that they are at risk of causing various diseases. Moreover, overweight children have a high risk of developing various chronic diseases. Starting from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes (diabetes).

3. Have a good appetite

Having a good appetite is one sign that your little one is well nourished. In this case, bad appetite is not only lack of appetite, but an excessive level of appetite is also not good. Both of them will certainly cause nutritional problems in children.

Children who are malnourished have less appetite, or tend not to have an appetite and are lazy to eat. Meanwhile, overweight children tend to have a high appetite which is actually not good for their health.

If you have difficulty controlling your child's appetite, you can consult a nutritionist.

4. The child is active and agile

Another sign to see if your little one has a good nutritional status is to look at their daily activities. Children with good nutritional status tend to be more active and strong in carrying out various physical activities.

This will look different from a child who is malnourished, who will tend to get tired, tired and weak.

Meanwhile, overweight children are also usually more passive than children with normal weight. The reason is, excess body weight will make children tired faster in doing activities.

Tips for parents so that children's nutrition remains good

Good nutritional intake for children is very important for the process of physical development and intelligence. In addition, a good nutritional status also makes you less susceptible to various diseases, as well as increases your daily productivity.

As a parent, do not immediately become complacent if the child's nutrition is fairly good. It would be even better to always maintain and maintain this normal nutritional status in ways such as:

1. Maintain a daily diet

Food is one of the determining factors for good or bad nutritional status of children, so it should not be overlooked. Therefore, make sure your child always eats on time, accompanied by eating a variety of foods. Because, there is no single type of food that can contain all the nutrients your little one needs.

Except for breast milk that is obtained by infants aged 0-6 months. Therefore, providing a variety of different types of food every day is a way to complete all the nutritional needs of children.

Starting from eating sources of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Apart from the main meal, you also provide healthy snacks in the middle of a child's meal. This at least can help ensure that the child's daily nutritional needs are met.

2. Teach a healthy and clean life

Always maintaining personal and environmental hygiene can certainly prevent the attacks of various infectious diseases. This is because infectious diseases are one of the factors that directly affect the nutritional status of children.

You see, when you have an infection due to lack of hygiene, children will usually experience a decrease in appetite. The reluctance to eat is what will lead to a reduced nutritional intake, so that his daily nutritional needs cannot be met.

As a result, the nutrition of children who may have been in good condition may turn out to be deficient or even malnourished. Therefore, another way that can be done to keep children's nutrition is good is by adopting a clean and healthy lifestyle.

So, in order to avoid disease, you can familiarize your little one with:

• Wash your hands with soap and clean water before and after eating, from outside the home, or from the toilet.
• Cleaning your hands, feet, and body after a variety of activities can also help prevent infection.
• Cover the food that is served on the table, or prevent it from being infested by flies and other germ-carrying animals.
• Always cover mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing with a clean handkerchief.
• Always wear footwear when going out of the house.

3. Invite your little one to play outside for physical activity

Physical activity which includes all kinds of bodily activities, including sports, can be an effort to maintain children's good nutrition. Because by doing so, the energy that enters and leaves the body will be balanced.

This means that the energy stored in the child's body will not be either excess or deficient. On the other hand, physical activity also helps smooth the body's metabolic system, including nutrients.

4. Monitor health regularly

Examination of nutritional status and overall body health should be carried out in each age group of the child. one month. You can take your child to the nearest health service center, to get an idea of ​​their current health condition.

This is so that if any abnormalities in the child's development are seen, treatment can be done as soon as possible.

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