EFFICACY OF BISCUITS ENRICHED WITH BANANA SKY (Musa
troglodyarium) AND FLOUR TUNA SKIPJACK AS A SUPPLEMENTARY
FOOD FOR UNDERWEIGHT CHILDREN UNDER-FIVEYEARS IN AMBON

Muhamad Asrar1 ,EtyYuni Ristanti2
Page No. 29-38

Background. Diversifying the formulation of supplementary food should consider the nutrition
aspects, health benefits, acceptance, economic value, durability and the qualified resources to
optimize the handling of nutritional problems in children under-fives age. Purpose. This study was
aimed to analyze the efficacy of biscuits enriched with banana sky and flour tuna skipjack on
the nutrition status of underweight children under-fives (2-5 years old). Methodology.
An experimental study was designed with Single Blind Pre-post Randomized Controlled
Trial (RCT) Study applied for this research.22 underweight children aged 2-5 years old (Z-score
BB/U <-2 SD) in the Health Centers of Tawiri and Nania were the samples of the study. The
treatment group was treated with biscuits enriched with banana sky and flour tuna skipjack and the
control group was treated with milk biscuits for 4week. Weight, height and 24-hour recall were
measured before and after the intervention. Results. There was an increase on energy and protein
consumption after the intervention. The sensory perceptions and obedience level on consuming
biscuits enriched with banana sky and flour tuna skipjack with a portion of 50g per day during the
intervention were high. There was significant increase on weight after being trated with
supplementary biscuits enriched with banana sky and flour tuna skipjack while there was not any
significant increase observed on the height. There was greater increase on nutritional status on
treatment group compared to control group after the intervention.
Conclusion. Supplementarybiscuits enriched with banana sky and flour tuna skipjack can increase
the weight and improve the nutritional status of children under-fives.
Keywords : biscuit, banana sky, flour tuna skipjack, nutritional status, childrenunder-fives