Dietary zinc intake is inversely associated with stunting among adolescent girls in Tanzania

Stunting is a highly prevalent public health problem in developing countries, particularly among populations exposed to food insecurity and chronic malnutrition. Empirical research has shown that early childhood malnutrition is a strong predictor of stunting. Zinc is essential to growth and development, deficiency in this micronutrient may further contribute to stunting in childhood and adolescence. This cross‐sectional study examined the associations between stunting and dietary intake of zinc among a sample of never‐married adolescent girls (n=296) living in Kilosa District, Tanzania. Dietary, anthropometric, physical activity, morbidity and demographic data were collected. The associations between stunting (determined as height by age less than 3rd percentile of WHO reference) and dietary intake of zinc were tested using logistic regression, adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, BMI, energy intake, physical activity and individual dietary diversity. The prevalence of stunting was 62.2%. Adolescent diets were generally deficient in zinc, with a mean intake of 3.4 mg/day compared to the RDA value of zinc intake as 8–9 mg/day for adolescent girls. Higher intake of zinc was found to be associated with lower risk of stunting (OR, 0.872; 95%CI, 0.763–0.998, p<0.05). These findings suggest that dietary intake of zinc may play a significant role in the chronic nutritional status of adolescent girls. Longitudinal studies examining these associations in developing countries settings are needed. Grant Funding Source : ASN