384 AGE OF THE FIRST MARRIED AS ONE OF FACTORS APPEARING CHILDREN WITH STUNTING IN POLEWALI MANDAR DISTRICT, WEST SULAWESI Irma Muslimin 1*) , Adriyani Adam 2) , Abdul Ganing 3) 1) Department of Nursing, Mamuju Health Polytechnic 2) Department of Nutrition, Mamuju Health Polytechnic 3) Department of Environmental Health, Mamuju Health Polytechnic *) E-mail: irmacr_7@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Stunting is a condition of failure to thrive in children under five due to chronic malnutrition so that children are too short for their age (malnutrition occurs in the womb and in the early days after the child is born, but only appears after the child is 2 years old). This study tries to look more specifically at the age of first marriage from parents who have stunting children in Balanipa District. This study was conducted using various data sources, including analysis of primary data and literature review. The study results showed that of the 91 respondents who had stunting children, 49.5% with parents who married at the age of the early category. After being assessed more in the value of risk different the age of first marriage with stunting is 19 which means that 19% of stunting can be prevented by getting married at the ideal age. After being assessed more in the value of risk different the age of first marriage with stunting is 19 which means that 19% of stunting can be prevented by getting married at the ideal age. This is a serious matter and needs to be addressed as an effort to break the chain of the emergence of stunting in the world. Cross-sector cooperation needs to be encouraged to prevent the emergence of marriage at a young age. Key Words: Stunting, Age of First Marriage INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nutritional problems are a public health problem if in the country, province, or district are considered good if <20%, less if they are in the range of 20-29%, bad if between 30-39%, and very bad if ≥40%. Anthropometric indicators of malnutrition can be indicated with less weight and shorter events (height that is less than normal age). Stunting is a condition of failure to thrive in children under five due to chronic malnutrition so that children are too short for their age (malnutrition occurs in the womb and in the early days after the child is born, but only appears after the child is 2 years old) (Kemenkes RI, 2016). Stunting is caused by a multifactor between generations and in society it is still considered a hereditary factor. Stunting reflects failure to receive adequate nutrition over a long period of time . It is hidden, not detected timely in early life and thus leading to decreased physical growth, and increased child morbidity and mortality, and later on resides in adverse functional consequences: deprived cognition and educational performance, low adult wages, and lost productivity. (Dewana, 2017). Linear growth isthe best overall indicator of children’s well-being and provides an accurate marker of in equalities in human development. This is tragically reflected in the millions of children worldwide who not only fail to achieve their linear growth potential because of suboptimal health conditions and inadequate nutrition and care; they also suffer the severe irreversible physical and cognitive damage that accompanies stunted growth. Stunting often goes unrecognized in communities where short stature is so common that it is considered normal. The difficulty in visually identifying stunted children and the lack of routine assessment of linear growth in primary health care services explain why it has taken so long to recognize the magnitude of this hidden scourge (Onis and Fransesco, 2016) Child marriage has physical, psychological and intellectual implications for the child bride. A large body of evidence has documented the negative consequences ,including lower educational attainment, higher susceptibility to violence, poor physical and mental health effects, reduced labor force participation and less power and decision making within the marital household (Parsons et.al 2015, Jensen and Thornton 2003, Malhotra 2013). A priori, these adverse effects should in turn have an impact on thechildrenof the child bride. There is a gap in the literature, however, in assessing the outcomes of children produced from child marriage unions. Such an assessment is quite important for policy as it highlights that the effect of child marriage may extend into the next generation. It serves as a notification that child marriage is not just an issue