25% rise in cases of zinc deficiency

A study by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health reveals cases of zinc deficiency have been rising in the country in the last three decades, with thousands of new additions every year. As per the data, there has been a 25 per cent rise in such cases from 1983 to 2012 – equivalent an additional 82 million people becoming zinc deficient through the years.

"There has been an ongoing demographic shift in India," said lead author Matthew Smith, a research associate at T.H Chan's, "with reduced fertility leading to a higher proportion of adults to children. The ageing of the population has caused zinc requirement for the average Indian to increase by 5 per cent because adults need more zinc than children for proper physiological function."

South and north-eastern regions of the country, where rice is a dietary staple, have most cases. White rice is poor in zinc. The research team studied Indian dietary patterns to estimate how rates of inadequate zinc intake could alter under changing atmosphere.

"A shift in lifestyle choices," said Dr Ashwini Chhatre, co-author of the study and an associate professor of public policy at the Indian School of Business Hyderabad, "as the rural population moves to white rice from traditional coarse cereals such as jowar; problematic public policies that give subsidy on white rice over other cereals, and climatic changes that cause deficiency in nutrients in crop are the causes of the deficiency. While fortification of foods is a short-term immediate solution, a better solution would be to guide people to make the right food choices."

Inadequate intake of zinc can have serious health consequences, including depression, decreased immunity, hair loss, impaired memory, poor wound healing, slurred speech and diarrhoea. In young children, it leads to vulnerability to malaria, diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia.

ZINKING FEELING

Inadequate intake of zinc can cause depression, decreased immunity, hair loss, impaired memory, poor wound healing, slurred speech, diarrhoea