Iron, zinc lack IQ benefit for kids

Prescribing iron and zinc supplements in infants born to poor families may curb the symptoms of related deficiencies but is not effective in improving their mental skills.

While both minerals are necessary for the development of brain, children in many developing countries and rural areas suffer from zinc and iron deficiencies.

Previous findings have suggested that the consumption of iron and zinc supplements during infancy improves not only blood levels of the nutrients but also the development of kids living in rural areas. A new study, however, voices doubt on these findings.

The study of 560 school-age children in northeastern Thailand showed that taking iron and zinc supplements for 6 months during infancy does not boost IQ, scores or other intellectual abilities in these kids.

Children, between the ages of 4 and 6 months, taking the supplements for 6 months did not have a higher IQ, score, attention and school performance, according to the report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The findings do not necessarily mean that iron and zinc supplements offer no brain benefit to children in the developing world, wrote Reynaldo Martorell and his colleagues from Emory University, US.

They suggested that the supplements needed to be prescribed in combination with other nutrients such as folic acid or sooner, probably in expectant mothers or even in children aged less than 2 years.

Apart from improving the development of nervous system, iron and zinc both play various other vital roles in the human body. These supplements prevent from the anemia caused secondary to iron deficiency, which is the most common nutritional disorder worldwide.

Source: presstv.ir