Medical News
Nutrient-enriched soil could help prevent childhood stunting
The strategy may reduce the detrimental effects of a debilitating condition
Adding zinc to farmland soil could help reduce stunting in children who eat the crops enriched with it , according to a study conducted in India by researchers at Stanford University .
Childhood stunting is a serious condition associated with undernutrition and can lead to poor brain development , reduced school performance , and increased disease risk . In India , more than one third of children under five years old suffer from stunting .
“ Our results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that interventions like micronutrientenriched fertilizers may have a positive effect on health ,” study lead Claire Morton , an undergraduate in mathematics and computational science at Stanford University , said in a press release . “ This doesn ’ t prove that those interventions would be cost-effective for India , but it ’ s an exciting indication that they are worth testing .”
The study involved the analysis of health data from almost 300,000 children and one million women across India , as well as 27 million soil tests . Researchers observed that soils with zinc helped prevent stunted childhood growth while the presence of iron contributed to keeping healthy levels of blood hemoglobin , an essential substance that carries oxygen to tissues . Fortifying soils with an adequate amount of zinc could potentially lead to 11 fewer stunted children per 1,000 , with researchers suggesting the measure could be beneficial in other countries as well .
“ We ’ re not saying that geography is destiny , but soils really do seem to play a role in shaping child health ,” study senior author Dr David Lobell , the Gloria and Richard Kushel Director of Stanford ’ s Center on Food Security and the Environment and professor of Earth system science in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability , said in the press release . “ Even if this is only a small role , understanding it could help to identify better approaches to solving child stunting in India , which is one of the single biggest and longstanding challenges in global food security .”
In the study , published in �cie�tific �e�o�ts , the researchers wrote that zinc deficiency was estimated to have caused 116,000 deaths globally in children under five in 2011 . In addition , 1�� million more people could be zinc deficient by 20�0 because of rising carbon dioxide levels . They added that several countries like China , Finland , and Turkey had successfully improved mineral levels in crops as well as the amount people absorb from them by enriching soils with minerals , including selenium , iodine , and zinc .
In the new study , however , researchers pointed out that less vulnerable children benefited the most from enriched soils .
“ The most robust finding is that low soil zinc availability is associated with childhood stunting . This effect appears to be strongest in wealthier households , perhaps re�ecting the fact that children from poorer households face many more health constraints beyond zinc status that contribute to stunting .”
Researchers observed that soils with zinc helped prevent stunted childhood growth
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