High on ease, low on nutrition: Instant-noodle diet harms Asian kids

MANILA - A diet heavy on cheap, modern food like instant noodles that fills bellies but lacks key nutrients has left millions of children unhealthily thin or overweight in southeast Asia, experts say.

"Parents believe that filling their children's stomach is the most important thing. They don't really think about an adequate intake of protein, calcium or fibre," Mr Hasbullah Thabrany, a public health expert in Indonesia, told AFP. Ms Mueni Mutunga, Unicef Asia nutrition specialist, traced the trend back to families ditching traditional diets for affordable, accessible and easy-to-prepare"modern" meals.

Though the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia are all considered middle-income countries by World Bank measures, tens of millions of their people struggle to make enough money to live.

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High on ease, low on nutrition: Instant noodle diet harms Asian kidsMANILA: A diet heavy on cheap, modern food like instant noodles that fills bellies but lacks key nutrients has left millions of children ... The instant noodle problem could easily be solved by bans + INCENTIVES 1. whole wheat/ tuber based (sweet potato/ tapioca)/ high protein noodles 2. free of trans fat and canola oil 3. free of TOXIC synthetic coloring/ flavor 4. adding dried vege/soy packs How hard is that?
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »