Zinc Status in South Asian Populations—An Update

Akhtar, Saeed

doi:10.3329/jhpn.v31i2.16378

Cited by 102 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…For example deficiency of zinc is highly prevalent in South Asia with the highest in Bangladesh (Akhtar, 2013) 6 Modulating malnutrition issue seems to be extremely demanding especially in South Asian regions, a home to half of the world's poor, tallying 1.4 billion heads. Feeding so many people living in resource limited countries with nutritionally imbalanced food is a serious concern that requires rigorous and sagacious approach to address the issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Malnutrition in South Asia—A Critical Reappraisal

Akhtar

2015

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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Malnutrition continues to be a major public health challenge especially in South Asian developing countries. The aim of the present review is to spotlight the magnitude of the prevalence of malnutrition and its dynamics in South Asian region and to suggest potential approaches for the prevention and control of this issue of public health significance. An extensive review of literature, covering malnutrition and its determinants, health and economic consequences and pragmatic preventive strategies was performed on computer based bibliographic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Medline and Sciencedirect.com ) to retrieve abstracts and full texts for India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. All relevant titles and abstracts were examined and evaluated for malnutrition and its prevalence in South Asia. The results revealed malnutrition to be a major public health problem and a potential cause of high disease burden and mortality in South Asia. Compelling evidence suggests malnutrition to be the leading cause of stunting, wasting and underweight with drastic economic consequences among vulnerable populations. Reduced cognitive performance and low productivity have also been associated with micronutrients malnutrition. Suboptimal breastfeeding, inadequate food supply, micronutrient deficiencies, low household income, poor health care system, increased healthcare costs, illiteracy, unhygienic and substandard living, inappropriate child's care and the caregiver, food insecurity and on top of that vicious cycle of poverty, have been recognized as principal indicators for growing malnutrition prevalence in South Asia. Global organizations, local governments, program managers, NGOs, academia, industry in particular and the society at large need to take up the challenge to completely confiscate malnutrition from the region for economic prosperity and a healthier future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidently, undernutrition may be averted to a greater extent in the presence of public action triggered by media exposure(Gaiha et al, 2012). Poverty stems from unemployment, low wages, or lack of education and subsequently results in household food insecurity and poor health outcomes(Black et al, 2008;Akhtar, 2013).…”

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Malnutrition in South Asia—A Critical Reappraisal

Akhtar

2015

Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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“…This is true for women in India where vegetarianism is practiced because of local custom, religion, or economic constraints [4]. Demographic, health, and nutrition surveys of representative samples of rural and tribal populations in India have not directly measured zinc intake [5] but describe diets low in flesh foods and high in cereals in non-pregnant non-lactating women ≥18 years [6][7][8][9][10]. Cereals are rich in phytate, a potent inhibitor of zinc absorption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary and Non-dietary Factors Associated with Serum Zinc in Indian Women

Herbst

Menon

Ferguson

et al. 2014

Biol Trace Elem Res

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Women in low-income settings, common in India, are at risk of inadequate zinc intake due to poor diet quality and low consumption of flesh foods rich in zinc. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of zinc status of non-pregnant rural and tribal women living in central India and to identify dietary and non-dietary factors associated with the biochemical zinc status of these women. Rural and tribal non-pregnant women 18-30 years of age were selected using proportion to population sampling near Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Sociodemographic, biochemical (serum zinc), clinical, and dietary data (1-day interactive 24-h recall) were collected. The mean age of women (n = 109; rural = 52; tribal = 56) was 23.2 years and mean BMI was 17.9 kg/m(2). The majority of the participants identified as being non-vegetarian (72 %). The mean ± SD serum zinc concentration was 10.8 ± 1.6 μmol/L, and 52 % of participants had a low serum zinc concentration according to the International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG). The median (first and third quartile) energy, zinc intake, and phytate/zinc molar ratio was 5.4 (4.2, 6.7) MJ/day, 5.3 (3.8, 7.0) mg/day, and 26 (22, 28), respectively. Zinc intakes were well below IZiNCG recommendations for dietary zinc of 9 mg/day for non-pregnant women aged 14-18 years and 7 mg/day for non-pregnant women aged ≥ 19 years. Using linear regression analysis to identify non-dietary and dietary factors associated with serum zinc, a significant association was only found for current lactation (p = 0.012) and energy intake (p < 0.001). Diets low in energy with poor bioavailability of dietary zinc are likely to be the primary cause of the high proportion of Indian women with zinc deficiency.

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“…Iron and zinc deficiencies affect about 40 and 33%, of the world population, respectively (Paesano et al 2012; Wessells and Brown 2012). While both iron and zinc are limiting in the diets of Indians, zinc is limiting in the diet of Turkish people (Cakmak et al 1999; Akhtar 2013; Anand et al 2014). Zn is essential for a healthy immune system, growth, wound healing, reproduction, fertility and sense of taste and smell, whereas Fe plays a central role in the transportation of oxygen around the body (Berg et al 2002; Gibson 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of genetic variability for grain nutrients from diverse regions: potential for wheat improvement

et al. 2016

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Background A total of 150 bread wheat genotypes representing 121 Indian and 29 Turkish origin were screened for nutrient concentrations and grain protein content. Elemental and grain protein composition were studied by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer and LECO analyser, respectively. The study was performed to determine the variability in nutrient concentrations present in the collected wheat genetic material from two countries.ResultsSeveral fold variations among genotypes existed for almost all the elements. Three major components of principal component analysis (PCA) revealed 60.8% variation among the genotypes. Nutrient variables segregated into two groups, one group containing all the macroelements except sulphur; and another cluster containing proteins and all the microelements except Zn and Mn. Pearson correlation analysis and heat-map were in accordance with each other determining strong positive association between P–K, Mn–Zn, Mg–S and Cu–protein content. Also, PCA and hierarchical grouping divided all the Indian and Turkish genotypes in two main clusters.ConclusionsNutritional profile differentiated the genotypes from two countries into separate groups. However, some of the varieties were closely associated and indicated the success of global wheat exchange programs. While most of the correlations were in agreement with the previous studies, non-association of zinc with grain protein content directed towards its control by some other genetic factors. Some of the experimental wheat varieties with promising nutrient content have been suggested for future wheat advancement programs. Results obtained will be supportive for breeders involved in wheat biofortification programs, food industries and people relying on whole grain wheat products.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40064-016-3586-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Zinc Status in South Asian Populations—An Update

Cited by 102 publications

References 65 publications

Malnutrition in South Asia—A Critical Reappraisal

Malnutrition in South Asia—A Critical Reappraisal

Dietary and Non-dietary Factors Associated with Serum Zinc in Indian Women

Assessment of genetic variability for grain nutrients from diverse regions: potential for wheat improvement

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