Nutrition facts

One of the things I like about our neighborhood in the suburb is that it only has one shopping mall. There are no hideous shop-houses (only cute ones) and so-called trade centers, only trendy outdoor cafes and bookstore. The whole area is still lush and green.

Visiting the mall on weekends, however, is a suicidal attempt. Aside from residents of the housing area, the mall also serves people from Tangerang and other cities nearby, or even Lampung, which is some two hours away including the ferry trip. So, on weekends, the mall will be insanely crowded.

On several occasions when I'm crazy enough to browse the mall on weekend, though, something often bothers me as I observe those mallgoers. Judging from their attire, jewelry and shopping bags, I assume that they are of the middle class people, maybe a bit lower, but definitely not poor.

Their children, however, are showing signs of poor nutrition. They're a bit skinny, their skin dry, the hair thin, lanky and redish instead of pitch black, and the eyes..dull and protruding. These kids also seem to be irritable. Many of the parents, meanwhile, look like they're gonna drop because of clogged artery or heart attack soon, judging from their huge belly.

I sometimes watch what these children eat, and it's mostly junk food, or else sweets. McDonald's is a big hit. I can guess what these kids have at home. I bet they start the day with fried rice, with abundant rice but small side dish (egg if they're lucky, or perhaps dinner leftover). If not fried rice, it would be instant noodle. Lunch and dinner would be pretty much similar: big on rice, low on vegetable or other fiber. Snack? Crackers, gorengan (fried snack), or other snacks that are high on MSG or artificial sugar.

I know for sure cause some of my relatives and old neighbors are like that. The philosophy of feeding their children is that it should be easy and make the children stuffed. I often warned my relatives about this, what it would do to the kids' brain, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, there is also the other side of parents' ignorance, which is apparent in the malls downtown, where middle upper class families come. Obese children would roam around the place, high on sugar and carbs, gobbling fried chicken and gulping soda, before taking dessert.

This thing often makes me angry. It bugs me how parents are so lazy and take their children's well being for granted. If the families are poor, I can still understand, but in this case, they're not.

Malnourished or over nutrition... man, this country leads toward a gloomier future.

Posted by hera at Tuesday, October 07, 2008 1:45 PM | Permalinks