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

Z. Zadik*, T. Sinai, A. Zung, A. Golander, R. Reifen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)435-441
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
Volume23
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2010

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