EFFECTS OF IRON AND ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN LAFIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, NASARAWA STATE NIGERIA

📄 Project Abstract

The prevalence of food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa is the highest in the world, with rates as high as 30% of the population being undernourished (UNDP, 2011). The United Nations sub-committee on nutrition and the World Health Organization estimated that about two-third of children in developing countries show some degree of growth retardation due to undernutrition. Micronutrients perform essential functions in normal growth and development beginning in the earliest stages of life. About 40 nutrients which are indispensable for the maintenance of vital processes, are required in only very small amounts, for which reason they are called micro nutrients. The child must consume small amounts of some 13 vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, K, C, B12, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pyridoxine, biotin, pantothenic acid and folate) and 10 trace elements (zinc, selenium, chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iron, iodine, manganese and molybdenum). These essential micronutrients fulfill a variety of s...