Children are the best assets of the nation. They are the future leaders. However, a majority of children in our nation are still suffering from malnutrition and associated maladies.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and a few non-government organizations are making efforts to improve the nutritional intake of children through various programmes.
Sakthi Soyas substituted dhal in children’s meals to the extent of 100% for a period of one year, during which time their nutritional status was assessed periodically. At the end of one year, it was seen that all the children who received Soya flour or chunks had shown better growth pattern than those who were on dhal alone.
Height of Children increased with Soya
In terms of height increment, children with Soya in their diet registered a growth in height of 6.8 cms during the year, as against 4.32 cms by children who were on dhal alone.
Weight of the children increased with Soya
Children who had Soya in their diet registered an increase in weight by 3.1 kg as against 1.33 kg by their counter parts who were on dhal alone.
Haemoglobin levels in Blood improved
Haemoglobin is a very difficult ingredient to show increase in. In fact, 90% of the people in India may be suffering from anemiacaused by iron deficiency. In our tests, children with Soya in their diet showed an increase of 1.6 gram percent as against 0.51 by the children who did not have Soya.
Improvement in Physical abilities of the children
When it comes to the question of physical abilities, children with Soya meal showed a very great improvement over their counterparts who did not receive Soya.
Mental abilities of the children
In terms of mental abilities also, the children with 100% substitution of dhal with Soya flour had scored 121 points in the test administered, as against only 101 points by the children who did not have Soya in their diet.
Tremendous reduction in incidence of diseases
The reduction in diseases was also very spectacular. A notable effect was the reduction in eye defects from 41% to 12%.
All these improvements have been observed for a period of one year only. If the diet is continued for the entire period of the children's stay in the school where they receive this nutritious meal, the improvements are expected to be much more spectacular and significant.
With the recent announcement of the FDA in the United States that intake of Soya flour of up to 25 grams per day will help avoid cancer and heart diseases, there is an expectation that there will be a huge demand for Soya flour manufactured out of Non-Genetically Modified Soya Seeds which is available plentifully in India.