13 short children aged 7–13 years who had a retarded bone age and low hair zinc concentration (under 140 µg/g) were treated with oral zinc supplements for a year. There was a significant increase in the growth rate in the children whose hair zinc concentration increased. Growth hormone, testosterone and somatomedin C also increased after oral zinc supplementation. Data from 755 short healthy children who have attended our Growth Clinic are presented which describe their hair and serum zinc concentration at different ages. The data indicate a decline in hair zinc concentration after birth with a gradual increase at age 4–6 years, finally reaching adult normal levels after adolescence.

W e comparedFestatus of 2 3 b r e a s t f e d & 23formulafedinfantswhose motherswereenrolledinthe2ndtrimesterofpregnancyinastudyde-t e r m i n i n g e f f e c t s of m a t e r n a l n u t r i t i o n a l a n d environmental f a c t o r s ontheinfants'growth&development. F u l l t e r m i n f a n t s , receivingno supplementary Fe, fedeitherbreastmilkorcommercialFefortified formulawerematched f o r race, sex, and s o c i a l c l a s s . Resultsindicate b r e a s t f e d i n f a n t s exhibithigherHctandHmgvalues, lower EP and lower EP:Hmgratios (N.S. Fe f r o m b r e a s t m i l k i s a b s o r b e d a s w e l l a s Fe from formulaand t h a t b r e a s t f e d i n f a n t s arenotgenerallyFedeficientBy 4 months. I n a d d i t i o n , i n f a n t s f e d b r e a s t milkalonehad a s i g n i f icantlylower TIBC and a h i g h e r % S a t t h a n i n f a n t s g i v e n s o l i d s i n a d d it i o n t o b r e a s t milk. Thecontroversyregardingtheneed forprophyl a c t i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f F e t o a l l b r e a s t f e d i n f a n t s b y a g e 4 m o n t h s andpossiblytheneedforsupplementaryFeforinfantsonFefortified formula, alone,mayberesolvedbythecontinueddietaryandbiochemicalobservationofFestatusinthesesameinfantsthroughtheir f i r s t year of l i f e . Shrock, Janet S. Kasler. The Ohio S t a t e University College of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.251261 children were i d e n t i f i e d a s overweight o r obese within t h e f i r s t two years of l i f e during well-child c a r e (provided t o them from b i r t h t o four years.) Their mothers were.enrolled during pregnancy i n a longitudinal study t o determine the e f f e c t s of maternal n u t r i t i o n and environmental f a c t o r s on t h e i n f a n t s ' subsequent growth and development. At every r o u t i n e v i s i t growth assessment and n u t r i t i o n a l guidance were provided. When growth was inappropriate, i n t e r v e n t i o n occurred with increased emphasis on appropriate growth r a t e & s p e c i f i c d i e t a r y recommendations. Data i n d i c a t e 1)considered alone, d i e t a r y intake, anthropometric assessment, growth v e l o c i t y , o r physical exam w i l l not i d e n t i f y inappropriate growth r a t e a s e a r l y a s when a l l a r e considered together; 2) t h e e a r l i e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n occurs, t h e g r e a t e r p o s s i b i l i t y of problem resolution. Of t h e 25 i d e n t i f i e d with obese s t a t u s , 9 have resolved, 13 a r e resolving; 3 have not.The p e d i a t r i c l i t e r a t u r e i n d i c a t e s a success r a t e of between 25-502 f o r obesity intervention, compared t o our r a t e of 88% with a minimum of s i x months follow-up.C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of children and families influencing inappropriate growth included: excess parental weight s t a t u s , poor e a t i n g p a t t e r n s , excess mate r n a l weight gain i n pregnancy, presence of extended family o r b a b y s i t t e r care. The i n v e s t i g a t i o n emphasizes ...

Growth retardation and malnutrition are common manifestations of cystic fibrosis (CF). Since chronic malnutrition is generally characterized by reduced somatomedin (SM) activity despite normal levels of growth hormone (GH), defects in the hypothalamic-pituitary-SM axis have been proposed as etiologic in the growth retardation of CF, Accordingly, we have measured GH, insulin, and SM levels in 15 adolescents with CF and compared them with 9 age matched controls of normal height and weight. All CF subjects were below the 30th percentile in height with 9/15 below the 5th percentile in height and 12/15 below the 5th percentile in weight. Weight to height percentile ratio was 50% or below in 11/15. Fasting 8 AM GH values were similar in both groups: 5.33±1,16 ng/ml (mean+SEM) in CF and 5.76+1.33 ng/ml in controls. Fasting insulin levels were moderately reduced in CF patients: 8.07±0,SOµU/ml versus 12.94+1,89µU/ml (p<0.01) although there was no evidence of clinical diabetes. The total plasma SM content, measured by placental radioreceptor assay following G-50 chromatography in formic acid was normal or elevated in all CF patients. SM levels ranged from 0.93-3.54 U/ml, with a mean value of 1.92±0,23 U/ml; control values ranged from 0.89-2.49, with a mean of 1.67±0,20 U/ml. This demonstration of normal plasma SM in subjects with CF contrasts with previous reports of decreased bioassayable SM. We suggest that the H-P-SM axis in CF is intact despite a clinical malnutrition, and that growth retardation may reflect a defect in c.ellular responsiveness to SM peptides,

. Meadow, NY 11554. Childhood obesity is caused by a variety of genetic and environmental factors which have been difficult to identify. We have recently found that some obese children have reduced levels of hair ZN. Our studies in rats and in adults with coronary artery disease have confirmed an inverse relationship between nutritional ZN status and aerum TG levels. We have also reported a direct relationship between serum T and Zn nutritional status. We are here reporting data indicating that obese children can be divided into two groups. In Group 1 the serum TG level and hair ZN concentrations are significantly higher than in