What causes zinc deficiency in children?

Children are the treasures of the family. They are given the best food, clothing, and other necessities. Parents’ attention to their children has exceeded many people’s imagination, and all their requirements for their children are met. However, many parents do not pay attention to their children’s nutritional deficiencies. Zinc deficiency in children is very obvious. Some children’s symptoms are particularly severe, which directly affects their diet, causing children to have poor appetite, unwilling to eat, and slow growth. So what causes zinc deficiency in children?

1. Mothers are zinc deficient during pregnancy and lactation

This type of zinc deficiency is more common in babies over one year old. During the fetal and lactation period, the zinc needed for growth and development of children almost all comes from the mother. Zinc deficiency in pregnant women directly affects zinc deficiency in the fetus. If the mother is still zinc deficient between birth and weaning, the infant will not be able to absorb enough zinc from breast milk, aggravating the symptoms of zinc deficiency.

Ensuring that the mother herself is not zinc deficient is the first step to ensuring that the child does not suffer from zinc deficiency.

2. Insufficient zinc intake

For children in their growth period, their daily demand for zinc will increase with age. If the zinc intake cannot keep up, they will become zinc deficient. Food in our daily life is the main source of zinc. Some children love to eat snacks, or develop bad habits of partiality and picky eating, which leads to insufficient intake of zinc in food and will cause zinc deficiency over time.

Parents should urge their children to develop a balanced diet habit, cook more varied meals for their children, pay attention to the color, aroma, taste and shape of the food, do not deal with it carelessly or in a stereotyped way, and certainly do not spoil them.

3. Excessive loss of zinc in summer

In summer, the temperature rises and the amount of exercise increases. Children's daily sweating volume is much higher than in other seasons. The zinc in the body will be excreted in large quantities with sweat, resulting in excessive zinc loss. Affected by the season, children's appetite is not very good in summer, and their diet cannot keep up, which eventually causes zinc deficiency.

Summer is the peak season for zinc deficiency in children. Many children often show symptoms of zinc deficiency such as loss of appetite and low immunity in summer.

4. Zinc Absorption Impairment

Everyone's physique is different. Some children are born with weak stomachs and limited ability to digest and absorb nutrients. Even if they eat a lot of meat and fish every day and have a rich diet, they will still suffer from malnutrition such as zinc deficiency. For zinc deficiency caused by this reason, it is recommended to directly take highly active and easily absorbed zinc supplements to quickly supplement zinc, so as not to delay the healthy growth of children.

In addition, some chronic gastrointestinal diseases can inhibit the absorption of zinc, which is also one of the reasons for zinc deficiency in children.

What causes zinc deficiency in children? There are many reasons for zinc deficiency in children, and they are also very complicated. Parents should observe their children's usual symptoms, meet their children's reasonable demands, and stop any problems related to their growth in time. Children with zinc deficiency also have abnormal personalities. Parents must find the cause of zinc deficiency so that they can supplement the symptoms and provide better preventive care in the future to avoid the recurrence of zinc deficiency symptoms.