Do Zinc Supplementation and Physical Exercise Affect Height, H/A z-score, and Academic Performance of Stunted Children in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic?

BACKGROUND: Stunting in children remains to be a global issue that requires to be addressed. Zinc plays a role in stimulating children’s growth. Research on zinc supplementation and physical exercise in stunted children remains limited in number, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIM: This study aims to analyze the effect of zinc supplementation and physical exercise on height, H/A z-score, and academic performance of stunted children in the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The design used in this study was a randomized pre-post test control group design. A total of 30 stunted children aged 8-12 years was divided into 2 groups. The treatment group received 5 ml of zinc syrup 3 times/week for 3 months and practiced physical exercise 3 times/week for 3 months. The control group only practiced physical exercise 3 times/week for 3 months. The analysis of change difference in average height, H/A z-score, and academic performance between the treatment and control groups was performed using independent t-test. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the increase in average height between treatment and control groups (p>0.05). There was increase in the average z-score of H/A in treatment group (0.19) which was higher than in control group (0.14), but the result of independent t-test showed that the mean difference was not significant (p>0.05). The result of independent t-test showed that there was no significant difference in the change in average academic performance scores between treatment and control groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in the increase in height, H/A z-score, and academic performance of stunted children between the treatment and control groups. Further study is necessary to conduct with a minimum of 6 months of intervention in the non-pandemic period.