Know what hunger is? Think again

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

You know how it is to feel hungry, right? The little growl in the pit of your stomach whenever you are too busy to grab lunch, or during the fasting month, if you are a devout Muslim.

Sometimes it grows into a roar, and you will probably feel a bit light-headed, dizzy even, with a throbbing headache starting from the center of your head and threatening to split it in two. Oh, and let's define irritated. A colleague's inquiry becomes like a rant ("shut up, stupid," you mumble to yourself), and you have to do everything in your power to hold that urge to slam the telephone receiver down three times for good measure.

Of course, all the pent-up rage ends when you manage to lay your hands on a pack of Oreo cookies. All gone, feeling better, blood sugar levels rising sky-high.

Now, here on World Food Day, let's talk about what real hunger is. It is about not having enough to eat day in and day out, with constant thoughts about where and what the next meal will be. If you feel bad on one day of the week when you have to skip a meal, think about how it is for those around us who function on one meal a day or less!

Adults, on average, need from about 2,100 calories to 3,000 calories daily, depending on age or whether they have a sedentary or active lifestyle. To put it in perspective, a slice of bread is about 70 calories, an egg is 90 calories, a cup of rice 300 calories and a Big Mac and fries is about 750 calories.

The economic crisis that struck in mid-1997 has made the poverty and hunger in the country even worse, and there are gloomy predictions that Indonesia will have a "lost generation" of undernourished youngsters.

World Food Day's theme this year of Fight Hunger to Reduce Poverty is spot on for the problems which beset Indonesia. Malnourishment, or poor nutrition even though the person may be getting enough calories, and undernourishment -- not getting enough of what we need to eat for sound health and growth -- are part of the vicious cycle of poverty. Inevitably, they lead to a multitude of problems for those immediately affected as well as society itself.

Hungry mothers give birth to hungry children with stunted bodies and similarly deficient IQs. Hungry children grow into mentally and physically disadvantaged adults who are always one or two or three steps behind their better nourished peers.

Food scientist F.G. Winarno said it was important to define the problem of undernourishment and its effects on particular groups.

"It has a huge impact on pregnant mothers, and it's also very significant for children from birth to seven years," he said, stressing the importance of new mothers breast-feeding their children for a minimum of the first three months.

"The brain is at its optimum development in the first three weeks in the womb, and a lack of nutrition means important cells will never develop properly."

If kids continue to be malnourished until the age of seven, he added, then we can forget about them ever being smart or excelling at school because their stunted IQ is set for life.

Winarno said humans need 47 minerals and trace elements daily, and a deficiency of one or more will have wide-reaching effects on their physical and mental health. For example, iodine deficiency in children can cause lower IQs, hearing problems and stunted growth.

"There are many things -- they will be less productive because they will be less active because of low energy if they are not getting enough calories."

Women and girls tend to fare worse than boys, with the societal factor that usually means dishing up bigger portions to the male members of the family.

There is also the "food-mood" correlation. Food elements enhance, or sometimes detract, from our emotional and mental state. If we are not getting enough of them, then how can we be expected to be content with our lives?

But Winarno said it was important to educate people that they could eat nutritious food even on a tight budget.

"Sometimes people with marginal, or just enough income, it's better for them, because we eat enough, not enough. The problem with people is the tendency to eat too much. The really important thing is to be smart in choosing what is good for your body."

Pediatrician Amir Hasan Rahim is also particularly concerned about the status of pregnant women and their unborn children.

"It's still a great problem, particularly in the regions, where women who are already undernourished become pregnant," he said. "When they get pregnant, they need even more nutrients for their babies, but they're not getting them."

He said he advised low-income women to visit their Puskesmas (village health centers) for primary health care when they were pregnant and to get education on nutrition and sanitation.

"There is still a lot of ignorance about nutrition, but you don't have to be rich to have good nutrition. For instance, tempeh is a traditional food but it is a nutritious food."

What is important, he added, is to vary food intake to provide a rich variety of nutrients.

So, still know what it means to be hungry?