Arcot 2017.
| Study name | Efficacy of multi‐micronutrient fortified wheat‐based food on the nutrition status of primary school children aged 6‐12 years in Lae, Papua New Guinea |
| Methods | Generally healthy male and female children, from Lae in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea. |
| Participants | Aged 6 years to 12 years including both genders. Exclusion criteria will include severe anaemia (haemoglobin concentration less than 70 g/L), signs of xerophthalmia and evidence of serious chronic disease as observed by clinical nurses. |
| Interventions | This study will be assessing the efficacy of micronutrient fortified biscuits on improving the nutrition status of children aged between 6 and 12 years in schools within the city of Lae for two terms of the school year. Each child will receive wheat flour‐based biscuits. In the case of the 'Intervention Group', these biscuits will be fortified with food‐grade vitamins and minerals (thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), nicotinamide (vitamin B3), folic acid (vitamin B9), cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), iron (ferrous fumarate), and zinc (zinc oxide)). Therefore, the dose of vitamins in each biscuit has been calculated to provide the equivalent intake as would be found in the daily consumption of 75g of fortified wheat flour. Each child will receive one biscuit per day of attendance throughout the study period except school and public holidays. Researchers and assistants will also be blinded to intervention product code identities throughout the trial from allocation to after statistical analysis. |
| Outcomes | Plasma B12 MMA, plasma ferritin, plasma retinol, plasma zinc. |
| Starting date | Two schools will be selected from urban Lae for the study, planned to commence at the end of January 2018 and conclude in June 2018. |
| Contact information | A/Prof Jayashree Arcot UNSW Australia School of Chemical Engineering Room 711, F10 Chemical Sciences Building Faculty of Engineering Sydney NSW 2052, Australia +61 2 9385 5360 j.arcot@unsw.edu.au |
| Notes | Source of funding ‐ Goodman Fielder |