Consumption of Eggs against Stunting among Ugandan Primary School Students - A Pilot Study

Consumption of Eggs against Stunting among Ugandan Primary School Students – A Pilot Study

School nutrition programs are popular in Uganda. In a pilot study US scientists investigated to what extent they can be used to compensate for the consequences of micronutrient deficiencies in Ugandan pupils, in the district of Kitgum. They tried to find out whether a frequent consumption of eggs is likely to compensate stunting in 6 to 9‑year‑old school children (1). Eggs contain high-concentration of protein and 13 essential micronutrients (choline, biotin, riboflavin, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid, vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin E and D, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and sodium (2)). For six months, 96 pupils were given two eggs per day each day, and 89 pupils were given an egg each; 56 pupils forgo eggs to compare. The result: the more eggs the pupils had consumed, the more they had grown after the end of the investigation. Side effects are not recorded in this study.

 

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(1) JI Baum et al. The effect of egg supplementation on growth parameters in children participating in a school feeding program in rural Uganda: a pilot study. Food Nutr Res. 2017; 61(1): 1330097. Published online 2017 Jun 6. doi:  10.1080/16546628.2017.1330097, available via: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5475308/

(2)ibidem. FIG. 2: illustrates the results:

(3) KM Miranda et al. Egg and Egg-Derived Foods: Effects on Human Health and Use as Functional Foods. Nutrients. 2015 Jan; 7(1): 706–729. Published online 2015 Jan 20. doi:  10.3390/nu7010706, available via: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303863/

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