The eco-cultural context of the undernourished children in a study on the effects of early supplementary feeding in Indonesia

Abstract

Objectives: This paper describes the ecological and cultural backdrop of the subjects enrolled in an experimental study to test the validity of a conceptual model about the intellectual delay of undernourished children.

Design: The experiment was a 12-month clinical, randomized trial on the effects of early supplementary feeding on two cohorts of children classified as nutritionally-at-risk. Three different supplements (condensed milk+micronutrients; skimmed milk+micronutrients; skimmed milk) were given to the children during 6 or 12 months of the study.

Setting: The plantations are 1500–1800 m above sea level in Pangalengan, 50 km south of Bandung, West Java. Temperature fluctuates from 10 to 17°C. A high yearly precipitation is ∼3000 mm. Communities are laid out at 5–15 km from one another. Living conditions are modest.

Subjects: The 156 subjects were recruited from 24 day-care-centers (DCC) that serviced families of 24 communities in six tea plantations. The 12- and 18-month-old cohorts included 73 and 83 children, respectively; each cohort included three subgroups that received distinct supplements.

Obeservations: The interactions of the caretakers with the children in the DCCs were consistent with the socialization for survival mode. A primary concern was the physical growth, health, cleanliness, sanitation and safety of the children. Stimulating children, providing toys and initiating play or other activities that would emphasize educational development had a low priority.

Sponsorship: Nestlé Foundation.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, Suppl 2, S11–S15