Is stunted children, slow weight gain due to zinc deficiency?

Video content is professionally consulted by Doctor Pham Lan Huong - Pediatric Center - Vinmec Times Cit International General Hospital

In fact, if the status of children with stunting, slow weight gain is not noticed and corrected in time, it can cause consequences such as:
Putting children at risk of malnutrition, adversely affecting development physical development, nervous system and immune system. Children are prone to diseases due to weak immune systems such as digestive disorders, respiratory infections, etc. This makes children's bodies weak, making it difficult to achieve good stature as adults. Affecting children's psycho-physiological development, making them feel tired, self-deprecating,...

The main cause of stunting and slow weight gain in children is a lack of vitamins and minerals. They are very important for the body, especially in the development stage: iron, potassium, calcium, vitamins A, B, D... and especially zinc are essential nutrients for young children. Lack of zinc, children will appear anorexia, slow digestion, slow growth, mild and moderate malnutrition.
There are also a number of other causes such as:
Anorexia children cause weight and height to "stagnate" because the body does not get enough necessary nutrients Digestive disorders: the child's digestive system Small children are quite weak, so they often have problems such as diarrhea, constipation, poor absorption of nutrients, leading to difficulty in physical development. Zinc is an important trace element, necessary for many metabolic processes in the body, especially during fetal and postpartum development. This is an essential mineral for the development of children, especially children from 6 months to 3 years old.
Zinc plays a role in protein and DNA synthesis in the skeleton, stimulates bone-forming cells and blocks the activity of osteoclasts. Zinc plays a role in the process of building muscle and controlling muscle mass. Zinc helps maintain and protect taste and smell cells, stimulates taste buds to help children eat better, increases absorption and synthesis of nutrients. protein. If the body lacks zinc, cell division is unlikely to occur, slowing growth, bone development disorders. In addition, zinc deficiency also affects the metabolism of taste cells, causing anorexia in children.
In pregnant women, the need for zinc is higher than normal people. Supplementing with adequate zinc content during pregnancy will help the fetus be provided with enough nutrients, avoiding stunting and low birth after birth.
Zinc also helps transport calcium to the brain, zinc deficiency makes this transport hindered, easily irritable. Zinc helps protect intestinal health, avoid digestive disorders, digestive infections, diarrhea
In addition, zinc also helps strengthen the body's immune system. For healthy physical development, children need a healthy immune system. The status of stunted children and slow weight gain cannot be completely improved in a short time. It is not advisable for parents to worry about their children's health and force them to eat too much, to avoid creating psychological pressure on children.

Zinc supplementation is a good solution to improve this condition in children, parents can choose quality zinc supplements from foods such as red meat, legumes, dairy,... or products substitute products.
Should parents use more alternative foods such as functional products, micronutrient supplements next to their children's meals and what are the precautions when using these products?
Although zinc plays a very important role in the body, zinc is easily lost daily through the digestive tract, urine, sweat, skin peeling ... For young children, the digestive system is still weak, sometimes sometimes Children can not absorb all nutrients, not enough zinc needed from the process of eating. Therefore, besides supplementing with zinc from food, when parents choose zinc supplements, it is necessary to pay attention to the origin and quality of the product, having an easy-to-eat taste, not making the children feel like they are "drinking". medicine". The dose of zinc supplements should be consulted by a doctor / dietitian to not add too much zinc.
If you need more specific advice on a healthy diet suitable for each age of your child, you can go to Vinmec International General Hospital to be consulted by a team of doctors and experts. Professional nutritionist with many years of experience in the profession.