6 things PEAK Milk can do to your kid’s brain + Hear what experts said about PEAK 4-5-6

Members of the Peak Nutrition Forum in a rare pose with Arts Jan Triest (CMO) Professor Ngozi Nnam and Mrs. Fadairo from Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs…all posing with PEAK 4-5-6
It is becoming increasingly obvious that
efforts to stimulate growth and advance the cause of development in the life of
the Nigerian Child basically lies in a conscientious effort of giving him  adequate nutrition  from the first week of delivery down to the
first one thousand days of adolescence.
This was the theme of discuss by a team
of experts at the Wednesday, June 15, 2016 PEAK Nutrition Forum
organized by leading Nigerian Diary Producer, FrieslandCampina the
producers of the PEAK and Three Crown dairy brands in Lagos.
The event which took place on the 2nd floor of the Prestigious Oriental
Hotel
, Lekki; Lagos-South
West Nigeria had experts and stakeholders in the nutrition and mind health
development sector of the country tackling the issue of poor nutrition in
Nigeria.

The event also witnessed the launching
of a brand new PEAK milk brand, PEAK   4 5 6 which is scientifically
produced for the growth and development of children between age 4 to 6 years.
Recall that PEAK already had the PEAK 1 2 3 for children of ages 1 to
3. With PEAK 4 5 6, it appears FrieslandCampina is taking her
nutrition security plan a step further to give comprehensive care to the
Nigerian child from  cradle to year 6.

The PEAK Nutrition Forum is an annual
event which brings up topical issues in the health and nutrition sector with
the invitation of experts from diverse disciplines in the health sector to deliberate
and set agenda for government at both local and national level on how to use
nutrition as a weapon to develop the human capital sector of the country.
This year’s edition was on ‘the Power of milk for the brain of a child
in his or her
formative years’
and the speakers for the 2016 edition seems to know more than the organizers on
the issue of using milk to develop the brain and giving nutrition security to
the Nigerian child.
Apparently tired of
seeing the Nigerian child slide deeper into the pit of intellectual paralysis
with grave danger for tomorrow’s leadership, many of the discussants at the
forum appear to be giving themselves conscientiously to reversing the ugly
trend. Their resolve to facilitate the retrieval of the brain of the Nigerian
child from the stinking and humiliating gutters of intellectual paralysis is
seen to steam the heart of the theme.

L-R;
Prof. Ngozi Nnam, Mr. Aart Jan Van Triest, Dr. Adegboyega Ogunwale,
Mrs. Alaba Fadairo (Lagos Ministry of Women Affairs) and Mr Tarang Gupta

Moderating
the discuss was Dr. Adegboyega Ogunwale,
a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro,
Abeokuta,
Ogun
State-South West Nigeria. Guests, journalists, nutritionists and other invited stakeholders
at the forum wondered why FrieslandCampina would have a Psychiatrist moderate and proffer
solution to issues relating to human nutrition. But it was soon discovered that
FrieslandCampina’s
strategy is a novelty as many cases of mental retardation and mental health
destruction actually began with poor nutritional regimes between the ages of 4
to 7 years which are the most critical years of a child’s brain.
The need
for a Psychiatrist to tell the story
of ‘how vulnerable the mind is if not well fed was appreciated.

Professor Ignatius Onimawo….’70% of brain development takes place in the womb’

Co-discussants
are;
Prof
Ignatius Onimawo

a PhD holder in human nutrition and specialist in human energy balance. Professor
Onimawo
who attended the event with his beautiful wife, Mrs.
Jane Onimawo
is presently the Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose
Ali University
, Ekpoma-Edo State—South-South
Nigeria.

Dr. Akintunde Okeniyi….’There is need for Government at the Center to subsidize milk for all Nigerian children of school age’

Dr. John
Akintunde Okeniyi
the second
discussant is a human physiologist and a consultant pediatric cardiologist with
interests in neonatal care. He is presently a lecturer (associate professor) in
pediatrics and child health with over 40 academic publications at the Obafemi
Awolowo University
, Ile-Ife,-Osun State-South West
Nigeria. The father of 4 lovely kids stormed the event with his son, Oluwatobiloba.
Mrs. Tolulope Owolabi a Certified Chattered Accountant
and Mother of two was the only female on the panel while Mr. Tarang Gupta, the
Marketing Director of FrieslandCampina and father of one
sat on the panel as a member.
Opening the discus, Dr.
Adegboyega Ogunwale
, who is a musician, psychiatrist, writer, lawyer
and mental health expert alerted stakeholders  in the nutrition community that his ‘team of four help finders’ were more
than intelligent and capable enough to re-invent Nigeria with their suggestions.
Ogunwale
who is also gifted with the wit of language and literature mesmerized his
listeners with his conscientious quotations from various philosophers on the
marriage of nutrition, nurture and nature. The mental health specialist quoted
philosopher Socrates in his opening remarks saying that ‘Let
your food be thy
medicine and let thy
medicine
be your food’
. He opened the forum with pomp and nostalgia.

Dr. Akintunde Okeniyi….’A brain given enough milk today will grow to fend for the future’

What the experts said about Milk….  
 First to speak was Dr. Akintunde Okeniyi. He
blamed the Nigerian government his opening remarks, for taking a back seat in
the simple task of using milk to develop the brain of the average child. He
noted that Britain, after the Second World War made it a compulsory effort
to deliver milk to the door steps of every home around the country and later
sustained it as a national exercise.  The
human physiologist said that single gesture of giving her citizens milk is the
reason why Britain became Great Britain. The Doctor noted with
pain that majority of Nigerian children today are not getting the best desired
nutrition which has made about 30% of Nigerian children stunted physically
because of lack of requisite energy to develop their brains and bones. Okeniyi
noted that “children between ages 4 and 5
are the worst hit as they suffer malnutrition in most cases and by age 5 when
they need the adequate nutrient to grow, they become weak and become victims of
stunted growth because their system lacks the requisite energy”.

Dr. Adegboyega Ogunwale….’The Issue of nutrient is the primary problem that causes psychiatric challenges’

Professor Ignatius Onimawo in his opening
remarks took his allegation directly to the child in the womb. The Professor of
human nutrition and human energy balance believed that 70% of Nigerian children
lost their intellectual and physical balance right from the womb. “If a Pregnant mother is adequately
nourished the child in her womb will develop well up to 4kg at birth and it
will affect the child’s brain”.
The Prof
stated further, “70% of brain developments
take place in the womb. And when the child is born, all the critical nutrients
the child needs for growth are already situated in the breast milk and for 6
months, you are to feed that child with undiluted breast milk but after that
you need complementary nutrient. For those who cannot feed their babies beyond
6 months, the critical nutrients are Maize, Sorghum, Millet and others, that
will stimulate brain development and physical activity”.

Mr. Tarang Gupta…..’Our major aim is to nourish Nigerian families with quality dairy’

 The Vice Chancellor of the Ambrose
Ali University
, Ekpoma however regretted that there
is no awareness on the part of government coupled with lack of effort at
ensuring that mothers give their wards adequate nutrients that will stimulate
brain development and physical growth before age 7. “Even, most of the Pap (Ogi) we give these children contains less
than 2 percent of protein. This can lead to poor brain development”.
Onimawo
pointed out.  The nutrition expert said
parent could add milk to pap prepared for their kids in order to boost their
brain immune system and facilitate growth. He noted that a specially designed
product like PEAK 4 5 6 can support the child’s nutrient demands which could
lead to his general health and growth especially during the important development
period of 3 to 6 years. He noted that about 90% of the child’s brain growth
takes place by the time the child is 5 years old. He said the DHA (An Omega-3
fatty acid which is a major structural fat found in the brain and retina of the
eyes) in PEAK 4 5 6 could act as a complimentary factor that will aid
growth and development of the child in a longer period. The Prof, looking sad
and angry went into statistics to reveal dirty numbers of child mortality rates
in Nigeria
comparable to a country like Sweden “In 2014, the World Health Organization put our Under 5 year’s
mortality rate at 128 to a thousand children. Meaning that, for a thousand
children born in Nigeria, a whooping 128 dies by age 5; in 2015, it went down
to 109 to a thousand born. But in a country like Sweden, it is 2 kids to a thousand births. It simply means that a
maximum of 2 kids die at age 5 in a thousand births. We need to take note of
this statistic and not to toy with the reality. Age 4 is the critical age when
a child starts playing with his limbs; he plays with fingers and legs and such
a child at this junction of his or her life need a concentrated kind of
nutrient to promote the desired energy. The Child must be adequately nourished”

L-R;Mr.
Tarang Gupta, Prof. Ngozi Nnam, Dr. Adegboyega Ogunwale, Mrs. Alaba
Fadairo (of Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs) Mr. Aart Jan Van
Triest, and Professor Ignatius Onimawo

Mrs. Tolulope Owolabi a Chartered
Accountant and mother of two gave her own side of the milk-for-child’s-brain
development story “For me, I have two
daughters. One likes to corporate with me when it comes to eating but the other
one is choosy and has a poor eating habit”
. Mrs. Owolabi gave her
strategy out “Sensing that I have to give
her the necessary nutrients at her formative years, coupled with the fact that
she is a difficult consumer, I apply my strategy which is to mix those things I
need to give her with her regular food and ensure she consumes them because
nobody want to have dullard at the end of the day”
Mrs. Owolabi noted that in most cases, mothers who have the means
to give their kids the required nutrients to grow end up having difficult
children who do not like to eat or choosy with their meals. She advised mothers
to ensure such children are brought out of their low consumption situation by
adding milk to their favorite cereals to enable them have a balanced diet that
will promote the growth of their brains and bones. She praised FrieslandCampina
for taking the initiatives to produce the PEAK 4 5 6 which will help many
working mothers to make the right meal decision for their kids.

Mrs. Tolulope Owolabi….’You must design the best strategy to feed your child with quality nutrients’

Tarang Gupta the Marketing Director of FrieslandCampina
in his opening remarks said it was not a mistake for his company to have gone
back to the drawing board to produce the PEAK 4 5 6 brand. The very
versatile multi-linguist Marketing guru said
“It was necessary for us to create a specialized nutrition product like PEAK 4 5 6 to alleviate the anxieties
of Nigerian Parents”.
Gupta
noted that as a father, he is filled with anxieties on what his child could
turn out to be in the future and while coping with her studies “We looked at the fear that is driving
parents in our society and we looked back at science and we discovered that no
child will ever go wrong with milk. Milk is the easiest meal to take and digest
and the multiplying effect on the brain is quite huge. So, we look at the three
cycles of nurture, nature and nutrient and we discovered that even though
nature cannot be cheated but we need to nurture the culture of a good nutrient
regime for our children in order for them to grow healthy and productive in
life”.

Mrs. Tolulope Bankole….’Feeding your child with quality nutrients is the biggest achievement in life’

In
his round off remarks, Dr. Okeniyi advised the Federal
Government to embrace a ‘Milk-for-all-kids’ culture in order
to create the desired future leaders and citizens. He said milk should be subsidized
for kids in school. The cardiologist said there is no better policy as
subsidizing milk for children of school age
“A mind that drinks enough milk in the formative years of life can withstand
any situation in the future. I don’t see why government is subsidizing oil and
subsidizing travels to the holy land. What they need to do is to subsidize milk
in their new food-for-schools programs, if they subsidized milk; they will
naturally develop a crop of great leaders who will take the country to a
greater height. I grew up drinking milk after the Nigerian civil war but today
we don’t have such programs again. Great
Britain became “great” because she
was feeding her citizens with milk after the war. Every home must get a tin of
milk at their door step every morning, it was a sustained national policy and
today Britain is one of the greatest
countries in the world. Nigeria can learn from Britain”

Professor Ignatius Onimawo…..’The race is neither for the smart of the swift but for the milk-oriented’

Professor Onimawo in his closing
remarks said “we are in a world of
competition and if you fail to develop your child in time you might miss out in
the end. Some of us did well in our adult years because our mothers gave us
enough breasts feeding of up to two full years and the result of that is a
strong brain and good physical health but the story has changed today. That is
why products like PEAK 4 5 6 are good
for our children. It is a specialized kind of milk which will nourish the brain
from age 4 to 6. By age 7, the child is already strong to face the challenges
of life. He is strong physically and mentally and by extension, the country
will benefit. But the secret is a good milk feeding culture from the first one
thousand days of the child’s life”
In
her closing remarks, Mrs. Tolulope Owolabi encouraged
Nigerian mothers to see the time they spent in feeding their kids with the
right nutrient as the best investment
“Nothing can be good like an intelligent child. You must find a way to feed
your child with the desired nutrient in his or her formative years. You will
surely reap the benefit later in life”.

Mr. Tarang Gupta….’At FrieslandCampina WAMCO, we have a cradle-to-death nutrient plan for families’

Tarang Gupta, the Marketing Director of
FrieslandCampina
assured parents that his company will continue to
churn out growth desired nutrition products that will aid the well being of
their children “We are known for quality
in the business of nutrition and the only thing we have going for us is that
our company pays premium attention on family values, intelligence and growth. A
Japanese proverbs says ‘The strength of a building to hold any sort of calamity
is its foundation’; our company has its foundation in families, from 1871 when
we started we have been carried by families and not factories. We believe that
if we build the family the family will build the society. We have a cradle to
death nutrition plan for families and we have adhered strictly to our principles
in the last 60 years of PEAK”.
 
PEAK 456 was later unveiled by Professor (Mrs.) Ngozi Nnam
(FNSN) a professor of Public Health Nutrition and President, Nutrition
Society of Nigeria
. She was joined by other eminent dignitaries like Mr.
Aart Jan Triest
, the global Chief Marketing Officer, FrieslandCampina-Netherlands
and representative of Lagos State Government.

The Perfect Moderator Dr. Adegboyega Ogunwale….’We need to set agenda for quality nutrition’

Speaking to Asabeafrika after unveiling
the new product, Professor Ngozi Nnam salute the courage of FrieslandCampina at
creating PEAK 4 5 6 for kids of the age 4 to 6 age bracket.  “I
think it is a clever way of intervening to address the issue of malnutrition in
Nigeria”
Nnam noted. She spoke further “A close look at PEAK 4 5 6 shows that it contains a lot of
nutrients that are good for growth and development, especially for that period,
4, 5 to 6 years. It contains a lot of iron and DHA which is very essential for
brain development. It might interest us to know that from conception through
the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth years of a child, the child is
still growing and the brain is developing. And this important nutrient DHA is very essential for adequate
development of the brain so that the child will grow and actualize his or her
potentials in life and contribute meaningfully to national development.  So, I think it is a very great development to
introduce a milk brand that is specific for that age group to meet their
specific nutrition requirement”

Peak Nutrition Forum 2016 being moderated by Neuropsychiatric Doctor Adegboyega Ogunwale