Children’s protein intake at stake

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When malnutrition is considered a major cause of child mortality in countries like Bangladesh, bird-flu panic is deteriorating the situation as the protein intake of some people has decreased significantly.

Protein is one of the key components of a proper diet and more than half the Bangladesh population suffer from malnutrition. Protein nourishes the body and develops the immune system. Protein-deficiency hinders physical growth of children and their brain development also slows down, experts said.

Due to the bird-flu panic, the middle class and poorer people of the society are suffering the most. They are more dependent on eggs for protein since high prices of fish and meat left them with very little choice.

A large number of people have crossed out eggs and chickens from their menu; people of the country will face severe protein deficiency, said Fatema Parvin, director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN).

Eshaque Ali, secretary in charge of Bangladesh National Nutrition Council under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said poultry and eggs are first-class sources of protein.

He said the body can absorb 100 percent of the protein in eggs and milk while 70, 80, and 75 percent of protein from beef, mutton and fish can be absorbed.

“As milk became pricey, eggs were the best source of protein in the country. Furthermore, the yolk of an egg contains Vitamin A, D, cholesterol and fat. There are 20 amino acids in eggs and 10 of these are important for children and eight are important for adults,” said Prof Shah Keramat Ali of Institute of Nutrition and Food Science of Dhaka University.

Even though pulses, beans and peas contain large amount of vegetable protein, the 20 amino acids cannot be obtained from one of them. It is possible to prepare a food item with peas, beans, rice and oil and only with their combination all the amino acids could be obtained, he said.

People should not panic over bird flu as the avian influenza germ and its H5N1 variant cannot survive over 70 degrees Celsius temperature, experts said adding that if eggs are washed with detergent powder or sodium-bicarbonate, it is safe and people can have them after properly boiling them.

If the people who process chicken for cooking properly wash their hands with soap in every stage of the cooking, they do not need to be afraid of infections; experts said adding that it is time to overcome the bird flu fear as the H5N1 strain cannot survive in cooked food.

“Consumption of poultry and eggs in our family has almost halved even though we heard that there is nothing to be afraid of,” Rumana Afroz, a housewife, said. She said she does not dare to buy chickens and eggs after watching and reading the media coverage of poultry culling.

“Rather, I am trying to buy more fish and fruits as supplement to the family’s diet. But I am facing problems as my children still want eggs and chicken. They do not like fish at all,” said Rumana who lives in Mirpur in the capital.

The daily requirement of protein for a child is two grams per kilogram (kg) of body weight. For adults, it is one gram per kg of body weight, nutritionists said. They said half the people of the country get 11 percent protein from all the food they consume in a day. However, one-third gets 17 percent protein from their total daily consumption of food.

According to the 2005 annual report of the Nutrition Surveillance Project of IPHN, 56 percent of children aged between 12 and 23 months residing in urban slums are underweight.

“I think people are unnecessarily panicked. We are providing the patients with chicken and eggs as we did earlier. If you boil it properly, there is no risk of catching the disease,” said Director of Bangladesh Shishu Hospital Md Salim Shakur, also a professor at Bangladesh Institute of Child Health.

Shakur said the hospital still provides chicken to its patients once or twice a week. But guardians can go for other protein substitutes such as fish, beef and mutton if they want to avoid chicken.

Dairy products, cereals, beans and peanuts can also be alternatives, he added.

According to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) Annual Report 2006, nearly one-third of children in the developing world are either underweight or stunted. More than 30 percent of people in the developing world suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.

Severe malnutrition contributes to more than 15 percent of all deaths among children under five in the developing world. If the malnutrition in childhood is severe, the risk of death goes as high as 40 percent, it said.

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