Unhealthy Snacking Habits are Prevalent Among Elementary School Students

Development Index (HDI) showing a noteworthy increase in 2018. This progress is a promising sign for Indonesia's future, placing it in the high human development category. The focus of the report is on child welfare and health services, emphasizing the significance of adequate nutrition for proper growth and development. The report highlights the challenges parents face in providing their children with nutritious food due to their busy schedules, which often results in children buying unhealthy snacks at school. The 2019 Annual Report of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) raises concerns regarding the quality of School Children's Snack Food (PJAS). A significant portion of these snacks did not meet the required standards and were found to be high in sugar, salt, and fat. These unhealthy snacks pose a risk to children's health, leading to health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Moreover, the report notes that poor nutrition not only affects children's health but also their academic performance. By using qualitative research, this report aims to describe the social condition and its impact on the unhealthy snacks habit in school. This report highlights the critical role proper nutrition plays in children's health and academic performance. It underscores the need for parents and schools to work together to provide healthy and nutritious food options for children. Furthermore, the report suggests that schools can play a pivotal role in promoting healthy eating habits by educating children about the importance of proper nutrition and offering healthy food options.


INTRODUCTION
Based on the 2019 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR), the 2018 Indonesian Human Development Index (HDI) was 0.707, an increase compared to 2017, which was 0.704.The latest figures place Indonesia at number 111 out of 189 countries and put Indonesia in the high human development category.Between 1990 and 2018, Indonesia's HDI value increased from 0.525 to 0.707, an increase of 34.6 percent.During the same period, life expectancy at birth increased from 9.2 years to 71.5 years, the average length of schooling increased from 4.7 years to 8 years, and the expected length of schooling increased from 2.8 years to 12.9 years.Indonesia's Gross National Product per capita increased by around 155.9 percent between 1990 and 2018. (www.undp.org).
Child welfare encompasses providing all necessary rights to children from conception to age 18, such as survival, growth, development, protection, and participation.In the process of growth and development, a child needs adequate nutrition.Health services for children are essential to ensure that children can grow and develop "(1) Parents and families are responsible for maintaining the health of their children and caring for them from the time they are in the womb.
(2) If Parents and Families cannot fulfill the responsibilities as intended in paragraph (1), the Government and Regional Governments must fulfill them.
(3) The implementation of the obligations as intended in paragraph ( 2) is carried out by the provisions of statutory regulations." (www.kpi.go.id)." In addition, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations General Assembly dated 20 November 1989, which was later ratified by Indonesia in 1990, in Part 1 Article 1, it said that what is meant by a child is every person under 18 years of age, unless based on The laws that apply to minors specify that they may reach the age of majority earlier.In the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, there are also 4 basic principles of children's rights, namely non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the right to life, continuity and development, and respect for children's opinions.Especially for the third fundamental principle of children's rights, it means that children have the right to grow and develop.Growing means increasing body size and the number of cells and tissue between cells.Indicators to determine growth are increases in height, weight, and head circumference.The quality of a child's growth and development is determined by intrinsic factors, namely factors congenital from birth (genetic-heredoconstitutional) and extrinsic factors, which include surrounding factors (environment) that influence a child's growth and development from the time they are in the womb until birth and their growth and development as a person Children (Ministry of Health RI: 2006).
One of the requirements for children's growth and development is adequate and balanced nutritional intake.Children's nutritional intake can be obtained from home and outside the home.Parents must meet their children's nutritional needs.However, currently, many factors cause parents to be unable to carry out these obligations, one of which is due to being busy at work.Being busy with work even means that parents cannot provide provisions from home for their children to take to school.
Various diseases that threaten children may arise from consuming snacks they buy at school.Parents often need to pay more attention to their children's nutritional needs, especially when their children have snacks at school.The behavior of children who like snacks at school is, of course, beyond the supervision of parents.In general, for Indonesia, the 2019 Annual Report of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) states that from testing 602 samples of School Children's Snack Food (PJAS), 121 samples (20.10%) obtained PJAS results that did not meet the requirements (TMS).The 5 types of food with the highest TMS in PJAS products are ice, colored drinks, meatballs/pentol/siomay/batagor/cilok, jelly/agar, and crackers.TMS testing parameters are the presence of Escherichia coli, determination of cyclamate levels, identification/determination of borax levels, identification/determination of dye levels, Staphylococcus aureus, and identification of formalin.BPOM also reported an Extraordinary Food Poisoning Incident (KLB KP).In 2019, 77 (seventy-seven) KP outbreaks were recorded, with 7,244 people exposed and, 3,281 of them experiencing symptoms of illness (attack rate of 45.29%), and 5 people died (case fatality rate of 0.07%).The highest cause was microbiology, with 35 suspected incidents (43.2%), and chemical agents, 9 incidents (11.1%).
The report stated that SD/MI was in second place where KP outbreaks occurred most often, with 12 incidents (15.6%).Snack foods served in elementary schools without proper hygiene and sanitation measures are believed to be a significant risk factor for KP outbreaks.These foods are often contaminated with pathogenic bacteria due to inappropriate storage temperatures and prolonged time intervals between processing and serving.It is crucial to ensure that snack foods served to school children are processed, stored, and served with utmost care to prevent the spread of illnesses.
It has been reported that the snacking behavior of elementary school students poses a severe threat to their health.The latest research conducted in 2017 by Dr. Judhiastuty Februhartanty from the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Food and Nutrition (SEAMEO REFCON) is even more alarming.According to the research, only around 40% of Indonesian school children bring healthy packed lunches from home, while the rest depend solely on their pocket money to purchase snacks at school.Previous research also took the same big theme, namely unhealthy snacking behavior among children.This research covers several themes, including education about careless snacking behavior, careless snack consumption habits, careless snack consumption behavior, and healthy snack consumption behavior.In previous research by (Wowor et al., 2018), it was found that weak knowledge about nutrition and socioeconomic conditions was one of the factors that influenced children's snacking behavior.Unhealthy snack habits influenced by a lack of knowledge can be avoided.One of the ways is by providing health education.There needs to be intervention from health workers in providing education programs about the dangers of snacks to school children.This outreach is to increase students' knowledge and insight so that it influences school children's snacking behavior.The involvement of teachers in conveying information regarding the dangers of snacks for school children is also involved.

METHODS
This research uses a qualitative approach, which is described as developing a general research theme through information and data collected in the field so that within this theme, a new idea or concept will be composed related to phenomena occurring in the field.In other words, this approach arranges the research variables according to the phenomena one feels, finds, and observes in the field (Neuman, 2013).
By using descriptive research, the research attempts to provide an overview using words and numbers as well as to present a profile (problem), type classification, or outline stages to answer questions such as who, when, where, and how.Apart from that, in the same source, descriptive research presents a specific picture of the social structuring situation or its relationships, and descriptive research usually starts with a problem or question that has been well defined and tries to explain it accurately (Neuman, 2013).

Child Development
According to the Child Welfare Law, Article 1, paragraph 2 of Law no. 3 of 1974 concerning child welfare, a child has not reached the age of 21 and has never been married.WHO (World Health Organization) defines children as people aged 0-14 years because, at that age, the risk tends to be more significant.Meanwhile, according to Hurlock, childhood begins after passing through infancy, which is full of dependency, namely around the age of 2 years, until the child reaches sexual maturity, namely around the age of 13 years for girls and around 14 years for boys.
At school age, in general, children's physical activity increases, and their motor skills expand.As time progresses, children's ability to be independent will become more apparent in their homes.In this scenario, the school plays a significant role, enabling several issues to be resolved by the children themselves, which in turn helps them to adapt to their surroundings.As a result, children have started to display a sense of responsibility and self-confidence in their tasks (Hidayat, 2008).During this period, children develop many social interaction skills, learn about moral and cultural values from the environment, and begin to try to take part in groups to play a role and develop self-concept.Currently, children also often gather with peers and begin to learn socialization because, at this age, there is rapid development in aspects of character, attitudes, interests, and ways of adapting to the peer environment (Gunarsa, 1997).
The school-age period (6-12 years) is a stage with great potential for forming a child's self-concept.Therefore, fulfilling the need for love and nurturing will make the child feel more valuable and recognized.As a child in the self-development phase (Industry), school-aged children develop relationships with the broader environment (Wong, 1999).Apart from that, the process of development and learning in this pattern always influences changes in the child's development.
There is a time when he is ready to receive something from the outside to achieve the maturity process, and the maturity process he achieves can be perfected through appropriate stimulation, including good behavior (one of which is good behavior).Hidayat, 2005).Children's self-concept comes through a gradual process and will later become a habit that will be applied until adulthood.Therefore, the role of schools in providing lessons and experiences to children is significant.

Healthy food snacks and unhealthy food snacks
Street food sold by street vendors or in English is called street food according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is defined as food and drinks prepared and sold by street vendors on the streets and in other public places that are eaten directly and consumed without further preparation or processing (Judarwanto, 2007).According to the Decree of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia Number 942/Menkes/SK/VII/2003, snack foods are food and drinks that are prepared by food artisans at the point of sale and served as ready-toeat food for sale to the public other than those served by catering services, restaurants./restaurants, and hotels.
In general, snack foods can be divided into four groups, namely (Winarno, 1997): • The leading food or dish is rice with mixed condiments, rawon and rice, pecel rice, etc.
• Fresh fruit, namely mango, durian Meanwhile, according to the National Food and Nutrition Widyakarya ( 2004), types of snack foods can be classified into 3 (three) groups.The first group is snack foods in the form of snacks, for example, small cakes, fried bananas, putu cakes, bugis cakes; the second group is portioned snack foods (main menu), such as pecel, meatball noodles, fried rice, fried noodles, boiled noodles; and the third group is snack foods in the form of drinks, such as ice cream, mixed ice, fruit juice.

Healthy snacks are foods that possess the following characteristics:
• They should be free from flies, ants, cockroaches, and other animals that can carry disease-causing germs.• They should be free from dirt and other forms of dust.
• The food should be steamed, boiled, or fried using sufficient heat, which means it is not undercooked.
• They should be served on a clean base and washed thoroughly with clean water.
• Unless the snacks are wrapped in plastic or leaves, they should be taken using a clean spoon, fork, or other utensil.One should not take food with their hands.• Use clean food and utensils, as well as the cloth used to dry the utensils so that they are always clean.

Unhealthy Food Snacks
Unhealthy snacks contain substances that are dangerous for the body to consume.The following are dangerous substances contained in unhealthy snacks:

a). Snacks with Preservatives
• Formalin: In the industrial sector, formalin produces fertilizer, photographic materials, perfume, cosmetics, corrosion prevention, plywood adhesive, cleaning agents and insecticides, dyes, mirrors, and glass.In general, public supervision and knowledge regarding the dangers of formaldehyde need to be improved.That is why formaldehyde is used for this industry in developing countries.It is misused as a food preservative for wet noodles, tofu, salted fish, wet fish, chicken, etc., so it can be dangerous and detrimental to health.Formalin is used illegally as a preservative.
• Borax: Borax is a wood preservative and antiseptic to control cockroaches.Borax is a white crystalline powder without odor and dissolves easily in water.Borax is used illegally in the meatball and cracker food industry because it can have a good effect on the texture of food.Meatballs and borax become chewy, crunchy, and long-lasting.Borak can cause brain, liver, fat, and kidney problems.

b). Snacks with coloring
• Rhodamine B: Rhodamine B is a synthetic dye in the textile and paper industry illegally used for food coloring.Food that uses this ingredient can be recognized by its unnatural striking red color.There are lots of color dots because it is not homogeneous.They are usually used in the cracker industry, shrimp paste, and snacks for children.
• Metanil Yellow: Metanil Yellow is a yellow coloring agent commonly used in the textile and paint industry.It can be in powder form.It can also be in solid form.This chemical is usually used illegally in the noodle, cracker, and bright yellow snack industries.

c). Snacks with artificial sweeteners
• Saccharin: Saccharin is an artificial sweetener that can produce a sweet taste sensation up to 550 times that of ordinary sugar.It comes in the form of a white powder without odor.Saccharin is widely used as a food substitute for sugar because it is much more economical.It is usually used in the cake and beverage industry.
• Cyclamate: Cyclamate is also used as a food mixture to give a sweet taste sensation.Use in large quantities can cause a bitter taste.That is why cyclamate is less popular than saccharin.Cyclamate is usually used illegally in the food and beverage industry.

Internal Factors
Human behavior is a pattern of activity that is greatly influenced by factors that exist within him.The internal factors in question include: • Type of race/heredity: Every race in the world shows unique and different behavior.The behavioral characteristics of the Negroid race are tough temperament, resistance to suffering, and prominence in sports activities.Meanwhile, the Mongoloid race is characterized by being friendly, happy working together, somewhat closed/shy, and often holding ritual ceremonies.Furthermore, it is similar to other races, which have different behavioral characteristics.
• Gender: The differences in behavior between genders are apparent in how they dress, carry out daily tasks, and divide work tasks.These differences may stem from hormonal factors, physical structure, or societal norms regarding task delegation.Women tend to act based on emotions, whereas men often act based on rational considerations.
• Physical Characteristics: Kretschmer Sheldon created a typology of a person's behavior based on their physical type.For example, people with short, round, fat, fatty faces are the picnic type.People with these characteristics are sociable, humorous, friendly, and have many friends.Personality: Personality is all the patterns of human habits that are accumulated within him, which are used to react and adapt to all stimuli both coming from within himself and from his environment so that these patterns and habits form a functional unity that is unique to that human.A person's personality has a significant influence on their daily behavior.
• Intelligence: Intelligence is an individual's overall ability to think and act in a directed and effective manner.Based on this understanding, individual behavior is greatly influenced by intelligence.Behavior that is influenced by intelligence is intelligent behavior, where a person can act quickly, precisely, and efficiently, especially in making decisions.
• Talent: Talent is a condition in a person that enables him, through exceptional training, to achieve special skills, knowledge, and skills, for example, the ability to play music, paint, play sports, etc.

External Factors
• Education: The result of the teaching and learning process is a set of behavioral changes.Thus, education has a significant influence on a person's behavior.Someone with high education will behave differently from someone with low education.
• Religion: Religion will make individuals behave following the norms and values taught by the religion they believe in.
• Culture: Culture is art, customs, or human civilization.The behavior of a person in a particular culture will be different from that of a person living in another culture.
• Environment: The environment is everything around an individual, whether physical, biological, or social.The environment influences changing individual traits and behavior because the environment can be an opponent or challenge for individuals to overcome.Individuals continue to try to conquer the environment so that it becomes tame and can be mastered.
• Socioeconomic: A person's socioeconomic status will determine the availability of facilities needed for certain activities, and this socioeconomic status will influence a person's behavior.
Meanwhile, according to Green, behavioral factors are formed by three main factors, namely: • Predisposing factors, namely factors that facilitate or predispose a person's behavior to occur, include knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, beliefs, values , and traditions.
• Enabling factors that enable or facilitate behavior or actions, including age, socioeconomic status, education, infrastructure, and facilities and resources.
• Driving or reinforcing factors, factors that encourage or strengthen behavior, for example, by providing examples from community leaders who are role models.

Unhealthy snacking habits have become a common issue among school students
The intensity of attention and perception of objects heavily influence knowledge acquisition.Sight and hearing are the primary senses through which a person gains knowledge.The importance of knowledge about healthy snacks is related to snacking behavior, as it helps identify the ingredients and potential associated dangers.Knowledge can be obtained internally through life experiences or externally through the environment.We should understand the health implications of consuming unhealthy snacks; it is essential to scrutinize their ingredients and potential risks.Notoatmodjo's behavioral theory suggests that behavior refers to the actions or activities of a living organism.A person's behavior is influenced by internal factors (such as heredity, gender, physical characteristics, personality, intelligence, and talents) and external factors (like education, religion, culture, environment, and socioeconomic status).In this research, the very influential factors include: • Race/Ancestry: Every race in the world shows unique and different behavior.In Indonesia, the population is a Mongoloid race which has the characteristics of being friendly, likes working together, being shy, and likes holding ritual ceremonies.In this study, the informant liked snacking because of hereditary factors.The parents did not get the informant into the habit of having breakfast at home, bringing lunch from home, or providing information and education to the informant regarding the dangers of unhealthy snacks.
• Personality is all the patterns of human habits accumulated within themselves, which are used to react and adapt to all stimuli.A person's personality has a significant influence on their daily behavior.The personality of the informant will influence the intensity of snacks purchased by the informant because, based on interviews, it is known that friends are a significant influence on snacks; if an informant is a closed person, of course, he will not have friends, and this will make him less influenced to buy snacks, but it is different with informants who have an open personality, have many friends, of course, the risk of influence from friends to consume snacks is enormous.
• Intelligence is an individual's ability to think and act purposefully and effectively.Behavior that is influenced by intelligence is intelligent behavior, where a person can act quickly, precisely, and efficiently, especially in making decisions.In this study, the informant's intelligence is reflected in his level of intelligence in choosing the food snacks he buys.Informants can see the cleanliness of the snacks they consume, assess foods that contain MSG ingredients, which are not suitable for the body, and know the chemical content of foods or drinks that contain artificial colorings, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners, which have a negative impact.On the body.
Through the research results presented, students at school do not have sufficient knowledge regarding the ingredients in the snacks they usually consume daily, which they obtain from traders who sell around the school environment.Students at school do not know the dangerous chemical content often found in snacks, such as borax, formaldehyde, or rhodamine B.
Apart from a lack of knowledge about the dangerous chemical content that is often found in unhealthy snacks, students at school also need to learn the dangers that will arise from the habit of consuming unhealthy snacks, especially long-term dangers.Students only know about the mild dangers or temporary effects caused by consuming unhealthy snacks, for example, stomach aches or vomiting.What should be known more is the longterm dangers caused by consuming unhealthy snacks that contain dangerous chemicals.These long-term dangers include neurological disorders.
Lack of knowledge among students at school about hazardous materials and the dangers they cause will further influence the frequency of consumption of unhealthy snacks, both at school and at home or in the surrounding environment.Moreover, the environment has a significant influence on shaping a person's personality, which is also related to their habits.
Therefore, there are behavioral factors that, according to Green, are formed by three main factors, namely predisposing factors, enabling factors, and driving or reinforcing factors.Unhealthy snack habits among students at school are influenced by: • Predisposing factors facilitate or predispose a person's behavior to occur, including knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, beliefs, values , and traditions.In this research, it is illustrated that the predisposing factor towards snacking habits is the informant's lack of knowledge regarding healthy and unhealthy snacks.
• Enabling factors that enable or facilitate behavior or actions, including age, socioeconomic status, education, infrastructure, and facilities and resources.Based on this enabling factor, the informant has a habit of snacking because his parents always give him pocket money.
• Driving or reinforcing factors, factors that encourage or strengthen behavior, for example, through examples from community leaders who are role models.In this study, the reinforcing factor was peers, who also influenced the informants to have snacks.Friends who like snacks are used as examples by them.Apart from friends, parents can also be role models.Maybe their habit of snacking is because they see their parents who also like snacks.

CONCLUSION
The snacking habits of school students have become a growing concern due to their tendency to consume unhealthy snacks without proper knowledge of their nutritional value or potential harm.To tackle this issue, educating students on the importance of a healthy diet and the long-term impact of consuming unhealthy snacks is crucial.There are several primary reasons for this behavior: • Students have easy access to snack vendors outside the school gate who offer a variety of tasty and appealing snacks at affordable prices.
• Students rely on school snacks during breaks as they often need to bring lunch from home.This further reinforces their dependence on unhealthy snacks.Parents who provide pocket money instead of provisions also contribute to this habit.
• The types and flavors of snacks available in the market are designed to please students' taste buds with attractive shapes and flavors.
• Students have no healthy snack options during breaks.
• Unhealthy snacks are more affordable compared to healthy snacks and drinks.Moreover, it has become easy for students to purchase with their pocket money.
Promoting healthy snacking habits among students is crucial.Parents and schools should work together to educate students on the benefits of a balanced diet and the harmful consequences of consuming unhealthy snacks.Schools should also encourage students to bring healthy snacks from home or purchase them from the school cooperative instead of consuming unhealthy snacks from vendors outside the school gate.

Recommendation:
1. Academics: • Further research to classify and deepen the discussion for other related subjects such as social socialscience, pediatrics, child psychology, and others

Government:
• Collaborative Health Initiatives where professionals, nutritionists, and local government or healthcare to build health initiatives to promote healthier snacking habits for kids.
• Regulate and evaluate the policy of student snacks from the lowest level (school policy, health policy, and government agenda) to consider proper and fit regulations regarding student snack habits.
• Conduct seminars or workshops for parents to share the significance of healthy snacking and offer practical tips on providing nutritious snacks for their children.

Unhealthy Snacking Habits are Prevalent Among Elementary School Students Riana Jogi Ahdareni Matondang 1* , Maria Yuliaty 2
Health is one of the rights that Indonesian children must obtain.It is by Republic of Indonesia Law number 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection Child Protection Chapter IX Part Two Article 45 Paragraphs 1 -3, which reads: