A double-blind, pair-matched 12-mo study examined the effects of a zinc supplement (10 mg Zn/d as ZnSO4) on linear growth, taste acuity, attention span, biochemical indices, and energy intakes of 60 boys (aged 5-7 y) with height less than or equal to 15th and midparent height greater than 25th percentiles. Boys with initial hair Zn less than 1.68 mumol/g (n = 16) had a lower mean (+/- SD) weight-for-age Z score (-0.44 +/- 0.59 vs -0.08 +/- 0.84), and a higher median recognition threshold for salt (15 vs 7.5 mmol; p = 0.02) than those with hair Zn greater than 1.68 mumol/g. Only boys with hair Zn less than 1.68 mumol/g responded to the Zn supplement with a higher mean change in height-for-age Z score (p less than 0.05); taste acuity, energy intakes, and attention span were unaffected. A growth-limiting Zn deficiency syndrome exists in boys with low height percentiles, hair Zn levels less than 1.68 mumol/g, and impaired taste acuity.

Hair and serum zinc and copper, growth percentiles, and dietary intakes, based on 3-day weighed food records, were determined for 106 Canadian preschool children (62 M, 44 F) aged 4-5 yr. Mean (+/- SD) hair zinc levels were (M) 103 +/- 35 micrograms/g vs (F) 129 +/- 34 micrograms/g, p less than 0.001, and median hair copper level was 12.4 micrograms/g (M + F). Mean serum zinc and copper were 111 +/- 13 micrograms/dL (M + F) and 122 +/- 21 micrograms/dL (M + F), respectively. Males with low hair zinc (less than 70 micrograms/g) had a lower mean height-for-age percentile (42 +/- 29 vs 58 +/- 25%, p less than 0.05), even when adjusted for midparent height. Males with hair zinc less than 70 micrograms/g and/or height-for-age less than 15% consumed less meat, poultry, and fish and received similar average zinc intakes but higher calcium intakes than males with hair zinc greater than or equal to 70 micrograms/g and/or height-for-age greater than or equal to 15%. Suboptimal zinc nutriture was associated with lower intakes of readily available zinc from flesh foods and higher intakes of calcium.

Millimolar ratios of phytate/Zn, Ca x phytate/Zn, and Ca x phytate/Zn per 4.2 MJ were calculated from 3-d weighed-food records collected from 62 male (M) (mean age: 58 +/- 7 mo [mean +/- SD]) and 44 female (F) (mean age: 58 +/- 6 mo) preschool children from Southern Ontario. Food-composition values for phytate were based on laboratory analysis and the literature. No gender differences existed for median millimolar ratios of phytate/Zn (median: M, 5.3; F, 5.3), and Ca x phytate/Zn per 4.2 MJ (M, 68.1; F, 59.5), but median intakes of phytate (M, 399; F, 333 mg/d) and median millimolar ratios of Ca x phytate/Zn (median: M, 102.1; F, 72.3; p less than 0.01) were higher for boys than for girls. Of the children, only two (1M, 1F) and 22 (17 M, 5F) had millimolar ratios of phytate/Zn and Ca x phytate/Zn per 4.2 MJ, respectively, that were above critical values. Millimolar ratios of Ca x phytate/Zn (p = 0.06) and Ca x phytate/Zn per 4.2 MJ (p = 0.05) were higher in boys with hair zinc less than 1.07 mumol/g v greater than or equal to 1.07 mumol/g. Analysis of variance showed that height was influenced by an interaction between millimolar ratios of Ca x phytate/Zn per 4.2 MJ and sex (p = 0.0007), when age and midparent height were treated as covariates. Results suggest that dietary Ca x phytate/Zn millimolar ratios, when expressed per 4.2 MJ, influenced the zinc nutriture of these Southern Ontario boys.

This study reports on the process and outcome evaluation of a community-based nutrition and cooking education program for senior men. As part of Evergreen Action Nutrition, a community-organized, nutrition education program, a registered dietitian led a Men's Cooking Group in a seniors' recreation facility. Written questionnaires were completed by most of the men (n = 19) at the beginning and end of the evaluation year, and ten men participated in personal key informant interviews. The majority of participants gained cooking confidence, increased their cooking activities at home, developed healthy cooking skills, and improved cooking variety through the program. The men also identified social benefits to the program. Overall, this preliminary evaluation suggests that community-based nutrition and cooking education for older men is a beneficial nutrition education activity.

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