Does the Change in Food Consumption Patterns Affect the Level of Dietary Zinc Intake?

Zinc is an essential trace element for the human body, participating in the synthesis and activation of over 300 enzymes, and is crucial for growth and development, immune function, and neurobehavioral regulation. However, zinc deficiency remains one of the major "hidden hunger" issues worldwide. With the rapid economic development and dietary structure transformation in China, significant changes have occurred in residents' food consumption patterns. Has this affected the level of dietary zinc intake?

Recently, a research team led by Professor Wenfeng Cong from China Agricultural University, in collaboration with Dr. Wopke VAN DER WERF from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, revealed the changing trends of dietary zinc intake among Chinese adults and the underlying reasons by analyzing data from China Health and Nutrition Surveys conducted between 2004 and 2011.

The study covered 21,266 adults aged 18–50 from 9 provinces and 3 municipalities directly under the central government in China. The results showed that from 2004 to 2011, the average daily zinc intake of Chinese adults decreased from 11.1 mg to 9.89 mg, and the proportion of people with insufficient intake increased from 23% to 37%, a growth of more than 60%.

Notably, this trend was prevalent across different income groups—although the zinc intake of high-income groups was consistently higher than that of low-income groups, zinc intake in all income strata showed a downward trend. The related paper was published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2024584).

Data showed that the zinc obtained by adults from grains decreased from 6.27 mg·d^-1 in 2004 to 4.68 mg·d^-1 in 2011, and its proportion in total zinc intake dropped from 58% to 48%.

For example, the zinc provided by meat slightly increased from 1.78 mg·d^-1 to 1.85 mg·d^-1, with its proportion rising from 15% to 17%.

From the perspective of regional differences, the rates of insufficient zinc intake varied significantly among provinces. The problem in Henan Province was particularly prominent, with the zinc intake insufficiency rate reaching as high as 65% in 2011, an increase of 28 percentage points compared to 2004; while in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the insufficiency rate remained at a low level of 18%–19% during the same period. No significant differences were found between urban and rural areas, but the average daily zinc intake of men was generally higher than that of women.

The researchers pointed out that this change is closely related to the transformation of China's dietary structure. Over the past few decades, the consumption of animal protein by Chinese residents has increased significantly, but the status of grains as a traditional staple food has declined, leading to a reduction in the main food source of zinc.

In addition, although high-income groups can supplement their intake by purchasing more zinc-rich foods such as meat and nuts, the overall change in dietary patterns has still resulted in a decrease in total zinc intake.

This study systematically analyzed the association between dietary zinc intake and socioeconomic factors, as well as regional dietary patterns. It emphasized that addressing the problem of insufficient zinc intake requires formulating strategies based on regional dietary characteristics, such as promoting foods with higher zinc density or improving the zinc content of crops through biofortification technology.

Currently, the zinc deficiency rate among children and adolescents in China is still as high as 27%, while the problem of insufficient zinc intake among adults shows signs of improvement, but with significant regional differences. In the future, more attention should be paid to the dietary quality of low-income groups, and at the same time, through nutrition education and agricultural technological innovation, promote the transformation of residents' diets to a "zinc-friendly" model.

(Newswise/SG)