Source: green leafy vegetables, milk, buttermilk, cheese, yogurt, dairy products, sardines. – Function: Calcium promotes strong bones. It strengthens the heart muscle and aids proper nerve functioning to the heart. It also activates the enzymes that convert food to energy, and is important in blood clotting. Chromium – Source: white potatoes, cereals, seafood. – Function: Chromium helps maintain normal glucose levels in the blood, and works along with insulin to do this.
Selenium – Source: eggs, cereals, mushrooms, garlic, poultry, seafood. – Function: Selenium is important in maintaining body fluids. Iron Source: red meat, liver, shellfish, fish, fortified bread and cereal, dried apricot, legumes. – Functions: Iron manufactures hemoglobin in red blood cells. This is crucial because hemoglobin transports oxygen. d) The diet of many Indonesian children A large problem in the diet of many Indonesian children is calcium deficiency.
Ever since the economic crisis of 1997, inflation was rampant in Indonesia. The cost of milk (a major source of calcium) doubled, and even tripled in some places. At the same time, many people were being laid off and in general people had less money to spend, resulting in less Indonesian children getting access to milk. This decrease in calcium intake led to many children not growing enough and many children being too small for their age. Calcium deficiency can also lead to weaker bones, and can result in diseases such as osteoporosis (weakening of the bones) and rickets (softening of the bones). It can also cause stunted growth in children.
The main effect of calcium deficiency is catching diseases such as osteoporosis or rickets. Other than these extreme effects, symptoms of calcium deficiency include convulsions and seizures, gum disease, loss of muscle tone and muscle cramps. 1. Steps: To set up healthcare centers and provide free milk thrice a week to all underprivileged children under the age of 15 who come to the center. Age 15 because most of the essential physical and mental development will already have taken place.
2. Problems we may face: funding! This is a huge problem because there are lots of underprivileged kids below the age of 15 in Indonesia and inflation is a large factor in this. 3. Estimated Cost if the project will cover 100 children: this depends on their respective ages and the number of years remaining until they turn 15. 4. Success of the program: The success of this program could be seen through a reduction in rates of stunted growth, rickets, osteoporosis and gum disease in children below the age of 15.
5. Social, economic, cultural or environmental conditions that may have caused the problem: the main factor in the problem of calcium deficiency is of course the economic crisis of the late 90s. Hundreds of workers were laid off, and the workers that still had jobs were working at low salaries. At the same time, inflation was at a high point – prices skyrocketed, and it was difficult for the average Indonesian to buy regular food with a below-average salary.