Zinc plays a major role in cell division and is essential for proper growth and development in childhood. It is an important mineral that your child needs for immune defence, protein and carbohydrate metabolism, proper body system functioning and activation and a co-factor in hundred enzymes .zinc deficiency is when zinc levels in the body fail to meet the daily body requirements. This is caused by low dietary intakes, vegetarian diets, poor absorption into the body, sickle cell, Crohn’s, and celiac diseases, and increased usage or excessive loss of zinc from the body. Low levels are diagnosed by analyzing the daily food intake and checking health records. The doctor can also incorporate by carrying biochemical tests such as blood cell count, urine and blood tests to check zinc levels. The dietary intakes recommend 3mg per day for your child within the age of 1-3 years.
Deficiency in zinc in young children is manifested in stunted growth, loss of appetite, and dimmish moods. Zinc is used in the maintenance of the epithelial tissues; hence, its deficiency affects the epithelial tissues and causes xerosis, skin lesions, seborrheic dermatitis, and other general skin problems. In class, the child has poor concentration, experiences learning problems, and is deterred in thinking ability. There is delayed sexual maturation for teenagers in adolescence or even impotence at older ages. Growth patterns in the child become abnormal in both weight and height. Zinc deficiency is responsible for stunted growth for almost one-third of children in the total world population. Other eminent symptoms include thin, sparse, and brownish hair, impaired wound healing, weight loss, oral ulcers, loss of sense of smell, taste, and vision, loss of appetite and may also develop an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa.
Zinc is critical and essential for proper child growth. Measures to solve zinc deficiency include increasing your child’s dietary zinc intake, zinc fortification, and zinc supplements. High-zinc food includes oysters, fortified breakfast cereals, beans, milk, yoghurt and whole grains.
Reference
Krebs, N. F., Miller, L. V., & Michael Hambidge, K. (2014). Zinc deficiency in infants and children: a review of its complex and synergistic interactions. Pediatrics and International Child Health, 34(4), 279-288.
Mills, C. F. (Ed.). (2013). Zinc in human biology. Springer Science & Business Media
Prasad, A. S. (2013). Discovery of Human Zinc Deficiency: Its Impact on Human Health and Disease–. Advances in nutrition, 4(2), 176-190.
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