Effect of micronutrient supplementation on health and nutritional status of schoolchildren: growth and morbidity

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Los Angeles County, Calif.), 2006, Vol.22 (1), p.S8-S14
• Main Authors: Sarma, K.V. Rameshwar, Udaykumar, P., Balakrishna, N., Vijayaraghavan, K., Sivakumar, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; adolescent nutrition; anthropometric measurements; Anthropometry; beverages; Biological and medical sciences; Body Height - drug effects; Body Weight - drug effects; Child; child growth; child nutrition; Children & youth; Cluster Analysis; Diet; Dietary supplements; Double-Blind Method; elementary students; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Food, Fortified; fortified foods; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Growth; Health Status; high school students; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; Humans; India; Male; Medical sciences; Micronutrients; Micronutrients - administration & dosage; Micronutrients - deficiency; Micronutrients - pharmacology; middle school students; Morbidity; nutrient deficiencies; Nutrition; nutrition assessment; Nutritional status; Nutritional Status - drug effects; Nutritional supplementation; Nutritional survey. Food supply and nutritional requirement; Schools; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; vitamin deficiencies; vitamin-mineral supplements; Zinc
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2005.07.011

We evaluated the effect of a micronutrient-fortified beverage on growth and morbidity in apparently healthy schoolchildren. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, matched-pair, cluster, randomized study in semi-urban middle-income residential schoolchildren aged 6 to 16 y. Anthropometrics (height and weight), clinical symptoms of deficiency, and morbidity data were collected at baseline in the supplemented group ( n = 446 in 10 grades) and the placebo group ( n = 423 in 10 grades) and after 14 mo of supplementation ( n = 355 in the supplement group and n = 340 in the placebo group from nine pairs). After 14 mo of supplementation, there was a significant increase in mean increments of height and weight z scores of −0.04 and 0.02, respectively, in the supplemented group compared with −0.14 and −0.09 in the placebo group. Velocity of weight (3.56 versus 3.00) was significantly ( P < 0.01) higher with supplementation. Although there were no differences in the incidence of common childhood diseases such as fever, cough and cold, diarrhea, and ear infections elicited for a reference period of 1 mo at every quarterly follow-up examination, the mean duration of illness (calculated per person per year) was significantly shorter (5.0 d) in the supplemented group than in the placebo group (7.4 d). The micronutrient-fortified beverage was beneficial in promoting growth and decreasing duration of common illnesses among middle-class residential schoolchildren who had adequate energy and protein intakes.