An IPB Vocational School Lecturer Introduced Innovative Baby Meal Planner Application to Suffice Toddler Nutrition
An IPB University Vocational School Lecturer, Annisa Rizkiriani, SGz, MSi introduced the Android application named Baby Meal Planner (BMP), an innovative application to help plan menus for complementary feeding in addition to breast milk (MPASI) and monitoring the nutritional status of infants aged 6-24 months.
“This application makes it easier for mothers to plan a complementary food menu that suits the needs of the baby’s body. The food recommendations contained in the BMP application are also very diverse with balanced nutrition for babies,” said Annisa.
Currently, Baby Meal Planner has obtained Intellectual Property Rights (HKI) and has at least been published in a national journal accredited by the Science and Technology Index (SINTA). Until now, the BMP application has been downloaded by more than 5,000 people on the Playstore and Appstore.
“The BMP application is available on Android and iOS. This application can provide personalized information on energy and nutritional needs as well as daily food needs, which are unique to each individual,” she explained.
According to Annisa, using the BMP application is very easy. Mothers, as users, only need to enter baby data, namely weight, height, age and sex of the baby. “Then the mother will get important information regarding the baby’s nutritional status and nutritional needs,” she said in the PERGIZI Pangan Webinar with the theme ‘PMBA and the Baby Meal Planner Application for Adequate Toddler Nutrition’ (29/3).
She added, mothers will also get various complementary food recipes in addition to breast milk (MPASI) consisting of a main menu and a companion menu. The appearance is quite attractive with complete information on the food ingredients and is easy for mothers to follow at home.
“Knowledge of nutrition is very important for mothers with babies in the first 1,000 days of life (HPK). After birth, 1,000 HPK is a golden period for the growth of a child’s brain. In this phase, the nutritional status of the baby needs to be monitored so that the mother also needs to have good nutritional knowledge,” she explained.
On that occasion, she revealed that as many as 60 percent of mothers did not have good knowledge, so according to her, BMP could be an easy solution for mothers in managing and monitoring their child’s nutrition.
Annisa said, the development of the Baby Meal Planner application starts from 2020 to 2023 with nutritional status parameters based on World Health Organization (WHO) references. This parameter includes energy requirements, energy availability from complementary foods, protein requirements, fat requirements, carbohydrate requirements and nutrient content.
“In 2023, this application has gone through a stabilization process and is now based on iOS.
Its development is also in line with the second Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely reducing hunger and improving people’s nutrition through efforts to fulfil 1,000 HPK nutrition in the context of preventing stunting,” added Annisa. (MW/Rz) (IAAS/SHY)
