Micronutrient Study in the News
Children ages two to eight years across 11 Pacific jurisdictions—including Hawaiʻi—are not meeting daily recommended intakes for key micronutrients (essential vitamins and minerals needed in small amounts for health), either consuming too much or too little.
That discovery was published recently in a study led by scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and covered the jurisdictions of Alaska, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaiʻi, Marshall Islands and Palau. The research team also found associations between children’s micronutrient intake, obesity and the presence of acanthosis nigricans, a skin condition that is a hallmark of type 2
“Nutritional intake during childhood can shape health and well-being throughout life. Although excess intake of macronutrients, such as carbohydrates and fats, is considered the main driver of obesity development, micronutrients, such as minerals and vitamins, can positively or negatively affect the processes that lead to obesity. So, understanding the micronutrient intake relationship to childhood obesity can guide precision interventions to address nutritional needs throughout the United States–Affiliated Pacific (USAP) region,” said co-lead author Lucia Seale, associate professor at the Pacific Biosciences Research Center in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST).
Seale, co-lead Ashley Yamanaka, assistant director and assistant researcher at the Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence (CHL Center) based in the UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), and co-authors from the UH Cancer Center, and John A. Burns School of Medicine; University of Alaska Fairbanks; Northern Marianas College; University of Guam; and American Samoa Community College analyzed food intake data collected by the CHL Center.diabetes development.
Additional links:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1075972