Estimating the global prevalence of zinc deficiency: results based on zinc availability in national food supplies and the prevalence of stunting.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Ecological modeling study using aggregate national food supply and stunting data
PubMed 23209782 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050568
What was done
Researchers modeled country-specific prevalence of inadequate zinc intake using Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) national food balance sheet data, estimated absorbable zinc content, International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group physiological requirements, and United Nations demographic estimates. They correlated these national zinc adequacy estimates with dietary characteristics (energy, animal-source zinc, phytate:zinc molar ratio) and under-five childhood stunting prevalence obtained from World Health Organization growth standards.
What was found
An estimated 17.3% of the world's population is at risk of inadequate dietary zinc intake. Inadequate zinc intake was negatively correlated with total food supply energy and zinc content, as well as the proportion of zinc from animal-source foods, and positively correlated with the phytate:zinc molar ratio. Estimated prevalence of inadequate zinc intake correlated positively with child stunting prevalence (r = 0.48, P < 0.001), with the highest estimated risk in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Why it matters
This study provides a global reference for identifying regions and countries at highest risk of zinc deficiency, helping prioritize targets for direct biochemical surveys and nutritional interventions.
Limits
The findings rely on country-level food supply estimates rather than individual dietary intake or direct biochemical measurements of zinc status. The ecological design cannot capture intra-household food distribution or individual-level bioavailability, and the abstract does not specify the exact number of countries analyzed.
Cited by
- supports Approximately 1 billion people worldwide are estimated to suffer from zinc deficiency.