HYDERABAD: Researchers examining the nutritional benefits of millets have found that these “smart foods” can boost growth in children and adolescents by 26-39 per cent when they replace rice in standard meals. The study undertaken by seven organisations in four countries and published in the journal 'Nutrients' is a review and meta-analysis of eight prior published studies. It was led by Dr. S Anitha, Senior Scientist-Nutrition, International Crops Research Institute of the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Infants, preschool and school-going children as well as adolescents were part of the review. Five of the studies in the review used finger millet, one used sorghum and two used a mixture of millets (finger, pearl, foxtail, little and kodo millets). The children who were studied consumed millets over three months to four-and-a-half years.
Among the children fed millet-based meals, a relative increase of 28.2 per cent in mean height, 26 per cent in weight, 39 per cent in the mid upper arm circumference and 37 per cent in chest circumference were noted when compared to children on regular rice-based diets.
Higher protein, amino acids
“These results are attributable to the naturally high nutrient content of millets that exhibit high amounts of growth-promoting nutrients, especially total protein, sulphur-containing amino acids, and calcium in the case of finger millets,” said Dr. Anitha.
“These findings provide evidence that nutrition intervention programmes can be developed and adapted to increase diversity in meals using millets, by including it in school feeding and mother and child programmes,” said Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT.
Study author Dr. Hemalatha, Director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), said that implementing millet-based meals required menus to be designed for different age groups utilising culturally sensitive and tasty recipes.
As good as gold
The children who were studied consumed kodo, foxtail, little, finger millets and sorghum over 3 months to four-and-a-half years.