
Zinc Helps Children Think By Judy
McBride July 2, 1997Peanuts, popcorn, whole-wheat crackers
and other foods high in zinc could help some children learn and reason better.
In a study led by scientists with USDAs Agricultural Research Service,
daily zinc supplements helped Chinese schoolchildren with very low body zinc
levels to score better in perception, memory, reasoning and psychomotor skills
such as eye-hand coordination. An ARS psychologist spearheaded the
study with Chinese scientists because of earlier conflicting reports. Changes
in zinc intake had affected measures of cognition in three studies of adults,
but failed to do so in two studies of adolescent boys and girls. Findings of the new study with 372 Chinese schoolchildren--conducted in
three poor, urban areas of China--support the adult studies and have important
implications for countries where low zinc intakes are common. They could also
apply to the 10 percent of U.S. grade-school-age girls and 6 percent of boys
who get less than half the Recommended Dietary Allowance of zinc through their
diets. The RDA for this age group is 10 milligrams daily. The Chinese children, age 6 to 9 years, were divided into three groups. One
group took a 20-milligram zinc supplement daily for 10 weeks. A second group
took the zinc supplement plus a micronutrient supplement containing all
essential vitamins and minerals, except for zinc and four other minerals known
to interfere with its absorption. A control group got only the micronutrients
to alleviate any other deficiency that could affect performance on the
psychological tests. Before and after the supplement period, each child took a series of
computer-administered tasks developed by the ARS psychologist. The tasks
measured attention, perception, memory, reasoning and motor and spatial skills
necessary for successful school performance. The children who got the zinc supplement or zinc plus the micronutrients had
the most improved performance, especially in perception, memory and reasoning
skills. In addition to peanuts, popcorn and whole wheat products, the most common
source of zinc is red meat. Oysters are the richest source. Scientific contact: James A.
Penland, ARS, Grand Forks Human
Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D., phone (701) 795-8471, fax
(701) 795-8395, [email protected].
U.S. Department of Agriculture | |