The Global Nutrition Report 2020 highlights that stunting issues among Malaysian children below five-year-old, from 2006 to 2016, has increased from 17.2% to 20.7%. Previously UNICEF Report 2018 highlighted that children living in the low-cost housing areas in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia are suffering malnutrition which leads to impaired growth and development. UNICEF has proposed three solutions and one of them is to provide easy access to nutritious food. Stunting does not only affect the height of children, but it also impairs their mental and physical development (UNICEF, 2021).
Poverty, obesity, lifestyles and lack of nutritional knowledge among parents are the most associated factors of this scenario. Ironically, malnutrition and vitamin D deficiency deters calcium absorption that may cause soft and brittle bones disease known as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
In responding to this issue and focusing on B40 group, TRGS UTM has funded our study contained five subprograms: (i) Socio-economic impact on children’s healthy food intake, (ii) Formulation of supplementary functional food, (iii) Quality and storage study for 12 months and (iv) Production management and distribution to target groups and (v) Implementation of web-based monitoring and crowd-funding system. The study concludes that nutritional education and awareness campaigns among parents are crucial.
Besides, the development of supplementary functional food which relatively can provide essential nutrients and energy that assist in brain and body growth is indeed beneficial. Supplementary functional food had been produced to support healthy body growth and brain development, namely High Energy Nutrient Dense (HEND).
The formulation has been designed based on the Malaysia Dietary Guideline for Children and Adolescents {2013) and incorporated with the optimum specific bioactive delivery system providing essential nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, minerals, fibres, encapsulated bioactive ingredients, and vitamins (DHA and Vitamin D).
HEND products are also applied in other forms: bar, granola mix, biscuit, meal, and 3-in-l drink. The formulation is optimised for the nutritional needs of children from various age ranges and also nutritious for teenagers and adults. Our goal in the next planning, the production of HEN-D will be subsidized via crowdfunding. In the meantime, the new optimum formulation is focusing on children’s healthy eyesight and the ageing elderly as the target group.