Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:48:22.470Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Use of national food balance data to estimate the adequacy of zinc in national food supplies: methodology and regional estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2007

Sara E Wuehler ,
Janet M Peerson  and
Kenneth H Brown
Sara E Wuehler*
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Program in International Nutrition, University of California–Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Janet M Peerson
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Program in International Nutrition, University of California–Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Kenneth H Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Program in International Nutrition, University of California–Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objectives

Adequate zinc nutriture is critically important for human health, but the development of programmes to control zinc deficiency is limited by the lack of reliable information on population zinc status. The present analyses were conducted to: (1) estimate the absorbable zinc content of national food supplies; (2) compare this information with theoretical population requirements for zinc; and (3) use these results to predict national risks of inadequate zinc intake.

Setting and design: National food balance data were obtained for 176 countries from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The amount of absorbable zinc in these foods was estimated from food composition data, and zinc absorption was predicted using a model developed by the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). Demographic data were obtained from United Nations estimates, and age- and sex-specific physiological requirements for absorbable zinc were estimated using IZiNCG recommendations.

Results and conclusions: The mean per capita absorbable zinc content of national food supplies ranged from 2.98–3.01 mg day−1 in Western Europe and USA & Canada to 2.09 mg day−1 in Southeast Asia. The estimated percentage of individuals at risk of inadequate zinc intake ranged from 9.3–9.5% in the regions of North Africa & Eastern Mediterranean and USA & Canada to 33.1% in Southeast Asia. Overall, approximately 20.5% of the world's population is estimated to be at risk of inadequate zinc intake. Data on the absorbable zinc content of national food supplies can be used to determine whether further assessments of population zinc status and development of intervention programmes are warranted.

Keywords

ZincZinc statusFractional absorption of zincZinc deficiencyDietary zincNutrition assessmentNutritional status
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 8 , Issue 7 , October 2005 , pp. 812 - 819
Copyright
Copyright © CABI Publishing 2005

References

1International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group Hotz, C, Brown, KH, eds. Assessment of the risk of zinc deficiency in populations and options for its control. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2004; 25: S91–204.Google Scholar
2Brown, KH, Peerson, JM, Rivera, J, Allen, LH. Effect of supplemental zinc on the growth and serum zinc concentrations of prepubertal children: a metaanalysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002; 75: 1062–71.Google Scholar
3Bhutta, ZA, Bird, SM, Black, RE, Brown, KH, Gardner, JM, Hidayat, A et al. , Prevention of diarrhea and pneumonia by zinc supplementation in children in developing countries: pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials. Zinc Investigators' Collaborative Group. Journal of Pediatrics 1999; 135: 689–97.Google Scholar
4Bhutta, ZA, Bird, SM, Black, RE, Brown, KH, Gardner, JM, Hidayat, A et al. , Therapeutic effects of oral zinc in acute and persistent diarrhea in children in developing countries: pooled analysis of randomized controlled trials. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000; 72: 1516–22.Google Scholar
5Sazawal, S, Black, RE, Menon, VP, Dhingra, P, Caulfield, LE, Dhingra, U et al. , Zinc supplementation in infants born small for gestational age reduces mortality: a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics 2001; 108: 1280–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6King, JC. Assessment of zinc status. Journal of Nutrition 1990; 120: S1474–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Brown, KH, Wuehler, SE, Peerson, JM. The importance of zinc in human nutrition and estimation of the global prevalence of zinc deficiency. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 2001; 22: 113–25.Google Scholar
8 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Food balance sheets, averages for 1992–2000 [online]. Available at http://apps.fao.org/lim500/nphwrap.pl?FoodBalanceSheet&Domain=FoodBalanceSheet. Cited: Afghanistan, 26 June 1999; all other countries, 20–24 September 2002.Google Scholar
9Calloway, DH, Murphy, SP, Bunch, S. User's guide to the International Mini-list Nutrient Database (a component of the WorldFood Dietary Assessment System) Berkeley, CA Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of California at Berkeley Developed under USAID Cooperative Agreement No. N-5116-A-00-2030-00 1994.Google Scholar
10 US Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 13 [online]. Available at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl. Accessed 24 August 1999.Google Scholar
11 Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT) [The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center]. Email contact to addresses accessed February 2001. Available at http://www.cimmyt.org/whatiscimmyt/CIMContacts.htm. Received responses regarding Bangladesh, Bolivia, India, Kenya, Nepal, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.Google Scholar
12Faridi, H, Faubion, JM. eds Wheat End Uses Around the World. St. Paul, MN: American Association of Cereal Chemists, 1995.Google Scholar
13 US International Trade Commission (USITC). Industry and Trade Summary. Milled Grains, Malts, and Starches [online]. USITC Publication 3095. Washington, DC: USTIC. Available at ftp://ftp.usitc.gov/pub/reports/studies/PUB3095.PDF. Accessed 22 February 2002.Google Scholar
14World Health Organization (WHO). Zinc. In: Trace Elements in Human Nutrition and Health. Geneva: WHO, 1996; 265–88.Google Scholar
15WISTAT – Women's Indicators and Statistics Database (of the United Nations), Version 3 [CD-ROM]. Geneva: United Nations Publications, 1994.Google Scholar
16Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Using the estimated average requirement for nutrient assessment of groups. Dietary Reference Intakes: Applications in Dietary Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000; 73–105.Google Scholar
17Gregory, J et al. , The Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults. London: HMSO, 1990 (as cited in Trace Elements in Human Nutrition and Health. Geneva: WHO, 1996; Annex 2, pp. 328–9)Google Scholar