Zinc Requirements for Teenagers and Children - Essay Example

Zinc Requirements for Teenagers and Children Zinc is a vital trace mineral that contributes in a big way to the general health of developing children as well as teenagers. In Australia, a few researches have been conducted on zinc intake among Australian teenagers and children in recent years. Zinc contributes towards the development of the neurological, reproductive, and immune systems in children. In the 1960s, the incidence of a severe zinc deficit resulted in hypogonadism, growth retardation, and delayed sexual maturation (Sertori 2008). Zinc deficiency has also been known to result in infections such as diarrhoea, and pneumonia, the delayed healing of wounds, different varieties of skin lesions, and night blindness. In its milder forms, the deficiency of zinc deficiency can offset taste dysfunctions, reduced growth velocity, and reduced attention span. Zinc is a particularly important trace mineral for an individual during the teenage years since it affects aspects concerning sexual maturation. There are different foods that can provide zinc for growing children and adolescents. Foods such as shellfish, red meat, and grains contain a lot of zinc (NHMRC 2003). Zinc can also be found in foods such as yoghurt, milk, kidney, cheeses, green beans, nuts, peanut butter, lentils, tofu, wheat bread, eggs, rice, pasta, onions, bran, sunflower seeds, and ginger. In today’s food market, there are also many cereals that are fortified with zinc elements. Zinc tends to affect the absorption rate of iron and vice versa; this means that children who consume iron supplements can develop a zinc deficiency if their iron consumption is more than that of zinc. The Australian population’s intake of zinc has improved since the 1960s. Today, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy foods are the main suppliers of zinc in Australia (Whitney, Rolfes, Crowes, Cameron-Smith and Walsh 2011). For Australian adolescents and younger children, cereals are also regular providers of zinc in the daily diet. Zinc dietary requirements for the populations in New Zealand and Australia were amended in 2005 to include definite a Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI), Nutrient Reference Values (NRV), what Upper Level of Intake (UL) would comprise of, and an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) (National Health and Medical Research Council 2006). This review would result in larger submissions of what would be viewed as constituting the average zinc requirements for girls and women, as well as for adolescent boys and men. The Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey was conducted in 2007 to establish the right quantities of minerals and other food substances for the Australian population. This research would reveal that Australian boys between the ages of 14 and 16 were the subgroup that was least likely to fulfil the requirements of the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) where zinc is concerned. The survey also established that most Australian toddlers between the ages of 2 and 3 years showed evidence of zinc amounts that far exceeded the doses recommended by the Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. This survey showed that there has been a change in the groups that were formerly thought to have many deficiencies in zinc. In a study conducted in 1995, it was established that adolescent girls and not young boys exhibited symptoms of inadequate zinc intake. The 2007 survey also revealed that meat, fish and poultry remain as the main contributors of zinc in the age group between 2 and 18 years. Moreover, breakfast cereals are also rising as sources of zinc; and have now replaced milk as the second largest supplier of zinc for Australians between the ages of 2 and 18. According to the 2007 research, meat and milk products accounted for 68% of Australian youth’s total annual intake of zinc (National Health and Medical Research Council 2006). For Australians between the ages of 14 and 16, pizza, takeaway burgers and pasta was also a large source of zinc (Jacobs and Steffen 2003). The 2007 research also showed that zinc supplements were only used by a few Australian teenagers and were only one of the main sources of the mineral among Australian adults. For Australian teenagers and children, dietary recommendations come from food guides, dietary guidelines, and nutrient reference values. The NHMRC 2006 dietary guidelines for Australian teenagers and children were amended in 2006, and give recommendations on the most preferable sources of zinc as well as other minerals (National Health and Medical Research Council 2006). They also underline the importance of taking the right amounts of different supplements and not exceeding the recommended dose (De Benoist, Darnton-Hill, Davidsson, Fontaine, and Hotz 2007). The (AGHE) Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, on the other hand, was formed to assist Australian citizens in effecting the recommended dietary guidelines. The (NRVs) nutrient reference values for New Zealand and Australia) can be utilised to evaluate both population as well as individual rates of dietary intake in relation to the sufficiency of definite micronutrients like calcium and iron as well as macronutrients such as protein. Physical growth is a vital aspect in the development of children and teenagers. Increased body size as well as corresponding weight gain is significant characteristics of uninterrupted physical growth. Children require adequate nutritious food substances, particularly where energy is concerned, to facilitate this development (National Health and Medical Research Council 2006). According to the findings of the Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, there are different steps that can be taken to ensure the continued health of Australia’s youth population. The first has to do with emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding for new mothers. For infants, breast milk is a perfect source of zinc. While other types of milk may have adequate sources of zinc, the infant’s digestive system may not be able to assimilate it into the body as easily as it would the zinc supplies in breast milk. Children should also be encouraged to eat a lot of whole grain cereals, as well as legumes, fruits, and vegetables. This need not be done through recommending these food stuffs to them, but by serving it to them at younger ages. If schools and day care centres serve healthy foods that have adequate amounts of zinc to young children, it is likely that the children will become more accustomed to eating them and thus develop healthy eating habits that they will continue to have in future. The Current Statistics on Zinc Intake The Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey established that, in general, even though the zinc intakes has improved in Australia’s youth population when compared with the situation in the 1960s, it is still low when compared against the accepted norm of what healthy daily intakes of zinc are. This is because Australians are consuming fewer zinc –free foods like red meat. In addition, the Australian government has for the most part curtailed procedures such as fermentation of crops as well as soaking which are known to make zinc from plant sources easier to absorb. In Australia, the social groups that are most likely to suffer from some level of zinc deficiency today include the elderly, toddlers, infants, and vegetarians (Gibson and Heath 2011). Some young mothers today prefer to feed their children with artificial types of milk and will only resort to breast milk as a last resort. This leaves infants with inadequate zinc intake. For the elderly, their bodies might need different sources of zinc for the mineral to be sufficiently assimilated into their bodies. Vegans usually suffer from insufficient levels of zinc because it is dairy as well as animal products, which are the prime sources of zinc that they do not consume out of choice. Vegetarians thus have to break down the elements in plant food substances that stop zinc from being assimilated easily into the body. This can be done by sprouting and soaking food substances such as nuts and legumes before consuming them. Vegetarians can also choose to consume foods that have been fermented like sourdough bread so as to ensure that their bodies absorb the zinc. Vegetarians can also use supplements to add to their daily zinc intake. Moreover, this should be done after consulting a doctor because too much zinc can result in an upset stomach and negatively affect the absorption of copper in the body. Too much zinc in the body will also impair the body’s immune system. It is more advisable for vegetarians to depend on vegetable and fruit sources of zinc such as soy products, whole grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. References De Benoist, B., Darnton-Hill, I., Davidsson, L., Fontaine, O. & Hotz, C. (2007) ‘Conclusions of the joint WHO/UNICEF/IAEA/IZiNCG Interagency meeting on zinc status indicators’, Food Nutr. Bull., vol. 28, pp. 5480–5484 Gibson, R. & Heath, A.L. (2011) ‘Population groups at risk of zinc deficiency in Australia and New Zealand: A review’, Nutr. Diet, vol. 68, pp. 97–108 Jacobs, D.R. & Steffen, L. M. (2003) ‘Nutrients, foods and dietary patterns as exposures in research: a framework for food synergy’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 78, no. 3, pp.508S–13S NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council). (2006) Nutrient reference values for Australia and New Zealand, including recommended dietary intakes, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. NHMRC. (2003) Food for health- dietary guidelines for children and adolescents in Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra. Sertori, T. (2008) Vitamins and minerals, Marshall Cavendish, London. Whitney, E.N., Rolfes, S.T., Crowes, T., Cameron-Smith, D. & Walsh, A. (2011) Understanding nutrition: Australia and New Zealand Edition, Cengage Learning, Melbourne. Read More