Children lack Vitamin A

Children lack Vitamin A

BOGOR, West Java (JP): Many Indonesian children between one
and five-years-old suffer a Vitamin A deficiency, a nutritionist
said yesterday

Ali Khomsan, from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said
"based on a series of surveys I have conducted many young
children were found to have be lacking Vitamin A. The majority of
the children live in rural areas."

Ali said Vitamin A could be found in fish, fruit and
vegetables.

"Many urban children do not like eating vegetables, while
children in rural areas rarely consume nutritious fruit, like
apples or mangoes, mostly because their parents are too poor to
buy them any," said Ali whose degree is from Iowa State
University.

He said children's Vitamin A deficiency also reflected
parents' ignorance of the need for nutritious food in their
children's physical development.

"Besides that, many people in society consider eating or
drinking certain foods or liquid as taboo under certain
circumstances," Ali said, citing women who stop eating fish while
breast-feeding.

Vitamin A deficiencies cause eye symptoms.

"If not properly treated, the deficiency will have devastating
adverse effects in the long run. They could be blind for good,"
he said. (24/bas)