Zinc and vitamin A intake and status in a national sample of British young people aged 4-18 y.

OBJECTIVE: To examine zinc and vitamin A intake and status and associated dietary, socio-demographic, lifestyle and physiological factors in British young people.

DESIGN: National Diet and Nutrition Survey of young people aged 4-18 y.

SETTING: Great Britain, 1997.

SUBJECTS: Complete 7-day weighed dietary records were provided by 1520 participants, while 1193 provided blood samples.

RESULTS: A total of 13 and 11% of participants respectively reported low dietary intakes of zinc and vitamin A (retinol equivalents), relative to the UK lower reference nutrient intake. These percentages were not altered significantly by including contributions to intake from supplements, mainly containing vitamin A (as retinol). Likelihood of low zinc and/or vitamin A intake was more often associated with age, sex and likely under-reporting of food consumption than with other socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. Low zinc and vitamin A intakes were generally less likely in those with higher consumption of dairy foods (mainly milk). Zinc and vitamin A status (assessed by plasma zinc and retinol concentrations) were adequate in almost all participants. Plasma zinc concentration was not significantly associated with zinc intake. Plasma retinol concentration was correlated with vitamin A intake (overall r=0.17, P<0.001; adjusted for age and plasma alpha(1)-antichymotrypsin concentration) and increased significantly with age (P<0.001) in both sexes. A significant association was found between plasma zinc and retinol concentrations in boys only (r=0.17, P=0.001).

CONCLUSION: Zinc and vitamin A intakes and status were generally adequate in this national sample of British young people.