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High as Singapore’s healthcare standards are, some 14 per cent of Singaporean children under the age of five are underweight — and therefore at risk of poor brain development.
Such figures, according to the United Nation’s 2005 Human Development Report, put Singapore on par with nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Ecuador.
Independently commissioned by the UN Development Programme, the report collectively measures poverty, literacy, education, life expectancy and other factors.
Ranked top three on the list are Norway, Iceland and Australia, in that order.
How is it possible that one in seven children here are underweight, when health campaigns seem to reflect growing issues of obesity and its associated health problems?
“There have not been recent studies done on why some children in Singapore under the age of five are underweight. But possible explanations include not eating enough nutritious food, poor eating habits, illness, stress and poor intestinal quality,” said Dr Low Kah Tzay, a neonatologist and development paediatrician with the Singapore Baby and Child Clinic at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre.
The brain’s growth rate is fastest from the middle of pregnancy until the child’s second or third birthday. That means babies and toddlers need lots of sustenance to support their high metabolic rate.
Said Dr Low: “A one-year-old needs about 1,000 calories a day to sustain that high growth rate.” If they don’t get the nutrition their bodies need, brain cells do not develop properly and a permanent shortage may result — which can also result in lowered IQ. But it isn’t just a case of having enough to eat.
Dr Low stressed the importance of a balanced diet: “It isn’t just weight gain but also the kinds of food that assist in growth and development.”
And parents who are squeamish about breast-feeding should also think twice.
“Lack of breast-feeding could be a cause of poor intestinal health. Breast-feeding actually helps development and digestion. Babies should be breast-fed for at least six months,” said Dr Low.
Parents who notice their children are underweight should visit a paediatrician and make sure the child isn’t suffering from poor nutrition. But, added Dr Low, if a child is thin or slender, it does not necessarily mean he or she is undernourished.
TODAY /ra
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