The relationship between animal protein consumption and stunting in children in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia

Background: Stunting remains a major health challenge in developing countries. Low protein consumption is one of its well-known risk factors. Tulikup in Gianyar district, Bali, Indonesia, is listed as an assisted village program of the Child Health Department Faculty of Medicine Universitas Udayana, Prof. I.G.N.G. Ngoerah Hospital and top priority of the stunting management program in 2018-2021. This study aims to determine the relationship between stunting and animal protein consumption in children under 2 years old. Methods: Cross cross-sectional study involving 80 children aged 6-24 months in Tulikup village Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia, was done in June 2021. Stunting (length for age < -2 SD) was found in 7 children, whereas the rest 73 children were normal. Stunting as a dependent factor was assessed with WHO Anthro® software, and the independent factor was assessed with Ironcheq Questionnaire. Data was analyzed using an independent t-test and multiple regression test in SPSS. Results: The majority of children with stunting did not exclusively breastfeed, came from families with income under minimum wage, inadequate daily protein consumption, and suspect deviation results in developmental pre-screening. Bivariate analysis showed significant results of stunting with consumption of growing-up milk (GUM), liver, and egg (p=<0.05). Further multivariate analysis revealed the strongest relation between the volume of consumed GUM (β=1.081, 95%CI=0.680-1.481, p=<0.01) and frequency of egg consumption (β=0.458, 95CI%=0.129-0.788, p=0.007) with stunting. Conclusion: Stunting is related to animal protein consumption. Milk and egg consumption in substantial amounts every week can be considered as a a stunting preventive measure.