"Functional food" for acceleration of growth in short children born small for gestational age

Objective: To assess the effect of nutritional supplementation on growth in short children born small for gestational age (SGA). Patients: Fifty four short but otherwise healthy children (26 boys), 6.4±1.8 years of age, were referred for growth retardation. Methods: Following a 6 month observation period the participants were randomly allocated to receive growth hormone therapy (GH) 1.26 IU/kg/day (0.042 mg/kg/day) or nutritional program (NUT) or passive observation (OBS). Patients in the nutritional program received 10 mg/day iron, 11 mg zinc-three times a week and 10000 IU/week of vitamin A. The following parameters were obtained 3 monthly: height, weight, dietary intake and serum IGF-1. Results: Six months of nutritional supplement induced growth acceleration somewhat lower than that seen in the growth hormone treated children, but significantly greater than noted in the observation group (OBS 4.6±1.3, NUT 7.9±1.7, GH 9.1±1.8 cm/yr, P<0.001). Conclusions: Six months of vitamin A, iron and zinc supplementation induces growth acceleration in short children born SGA with subnormal nutrients intake similar to growth hormone therapy.