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)