Got milk? Help save children’s lives

If you are a mother with children below five years old, this should concern you.

A recent World Health Organization study predicted that about 2.2 million children will die this year of dehydration caused by diarrhea. Diarrhea is estimated to be the number one killer of children under five at the beginning of the decade and it continues to be a major cause of death among the world’s children. Diarrhea, or watery stools, can lead to excessive loss of water in children, causing dehydration, which may be fatal. Loss of nutrients through diarrhea can also cause children to become weak and malnourished, thus lowering their body’s resistance to diseases and affecting their physical growth.

Similarly, acute respiratory infection (ARI), which includes diseases such as pneumonia, is another leading cause of mortality in young children, with approximately two million children under the age of five in developing countries dying from this illness in 2000. The development of effective interventions to reduce morbidity from these illnesses has become important.

In the Philippines, a study showed that of Filipino children below five years old, 27.6 percent are underweight, 30.4 percent are short, 5.5 percent are thin and 1.4 percent are overweight.

A study showed that childhood diseases, such as diarrhea and pneumonia, can be prevented by feeding children milk that has been fortified with a specific bundle of nutrients.

"The study found that children who consumed a special combination of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C, E and minerals like iron, zinc and selenium, were significantly better protected against diarrheal episodes and acute lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, compared to children who consumed a milk powder containing natural levels of the same nutrients," reported Prof. Sunil Sazawal at the press conference held recently to present the results of the world’s first large-scale clinical trial on a fortified children’s milk, Anchor 1+ with Nutri-care, that showed significant prevention of childhood diseases.

The results of the trial were first unveiled during the World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition in Paris in July 2004 by lead researcher, Prof. Sunil Sazawal, associate research professor at the Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA and director at the Center for Micronutrient Research, Annamalai University, India. Prof. Sazawal is widely regarded as an expert in child nutrition.

New Zealand Milk, a world leader in milk products that enhance children’s health and nutrition, funded and supported the extensive landmark trial.

"The study marks a milestone in the milk industry by being the first clinical trial of its scale and design on growing-up milk powders for young children," remarked Rebecca Cannan, nutrition research manager of New Zealand Milk. "Unlike most other trials on milk, this study adhered strictly to internationally accepted criteria used for rigorous clinical human health research trials."

The study was designed as a randomized, controlled, double blind (RCDB) trial, a study design that is acknowledged to provide a very high level of evidence when evaluating the efficacy of an intervention or a product.

"RCDB studies are considered the gold standard in intervention trials for health benefits," Sazawal noted.

The study was conducted on 600 children, from a lower-middle-class residential area in Sangam Vihar, India, supplemented over a 12-month period.

"Breast milk is the best food for the child in his first six months of life," Sazawal emphasized. "However, during the critical period of growth, six months onward, the immunity from the mother that he gets at birth is weaning away. Certain nutrients, such as zinc and iron, in the mother’s milk is near zero."

"WHO recommends complementary feeding after the first six months," remarked Dr. Randy Urtula, pediatric gastroenterologist, who presented the Philippine situation during the same meeting.

Urtula’s report showed that among Filipino children below five years old, 27.6 percent are underweight, 30.4 percent are short, 5.5 percent are thin and 1.4 percent are overweight.

"Complementary feeding after six months is intended to be an addition to breast milk and not to replace it," she clarified. "With rapid growth, the children need more nutrients. Given the combination of foods commonly available at home, it is impossible to provide their diet with the needed nutrients. Fortified milk addresses this need."

Food fortification involves the addition of essential micronutrients to food at levels above the natural state. Food fortification is highly encouraged for foods that are regularly consumed, such as milk. Anchor 1+ with Nutri-care is fortified with: Vitamin A, which helps decrease the rate of infection of common illnesses; vitamin C, an anti-oxidant, which helps prevent cell damage and supports the immune system; vitamin E, an anti-oxidant which helps protect cell membranes against free radical changes; zinc, which helps the immune system produce anti-bodies and aids the body in fighting infection; iron, which plays a key role in transporting oxygen around the body and has an important role in learning; and selenium, which supports the body’s response to infection.

"There is biological evidence that iron deficiency is related to cognitive development," Sazawal adds. "Nutritional deficiencies early in life cannot be corrected later on. The most important benefit from fortified milk is protection against disease and optimized growth."

Anchor 1+ with Nutri-Care is the world’s only vitamin and mineral enriched fortified growing up milk powder that is clinically proven to protect children against common childhood diseases related to poor nutrition.