Research on children's Zinc supplementation and growth

Objective:To probe the influence of children's Zinc supplementation on their Zinc blood levels and the relationship between children's Zinc supplementation and their growth and development of height,weight and IQ.Objects 168 children aged three to twelve from the district at random.Methods:By the survey method of stratified and simple random sampling,give physical examinations,Zinc blood level tests and questionnaires about the dietary status and zinc supplementation to those 168 children,and use the SPSS 10.0 version statistical software to make the multiple linear regression analysis.Results:The average blood Zinc concentration of the group(168 children) is 58.98 umol/L.The children with normal blood Zinc concentrations account for 75.0% and the children with low blood Zinc levels,25.0%;②The blood zinc concentrations of the children has no bearing on gender,but there exist very notable differences according to their ages(χ2=20.08,P0.01).The proportion of children with Zinc deficiency aged 3 to 6 is larger than the children aged 7 to 12;③Blood zinc levels will influence children's growth(such as height and weight).For the children with low blood zinc levels,their indexes of physical development(height and weight) are more likely below the normal level(χ2=24.52,P0.01,χ2=29.03,P0.01);④The main factors which will have an influence on the blood Zinc level are diet and Zinc supplementation status;⑤The factors which will influence children's IQ are blood Zinc levels and Zinc supplementation status.Conclusion:The proportion of low blood Zinc levels is small in the children with well-balanced diet.Anorexia,food preferences and aversions are the main causes leading to low blood Zinc levels.Blood Zinc levels will influence the children's IQ.Treating children's Zinc deficiency and Zinc supplementation scientifically,treating advertisements for Zinc supplements rationally,and correcting the unhealthy dietary habits are the keys to children's Zinc nutrition.