American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 7, 180-184, Copyright © 1959 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Growth and Development of Central American Children

II. The Effect of Oral Administration of Vitamin B₁₂ to Rural Children of Preschool and School Age

¹ From the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala, CA.

The daily oral administration of 20 µg of vitamin B₁₂ in controlled trials involving 50 preschool children in one rural village and 228 school children in four rural schools in Guatemala did not produce any effect on their rates of gain in either height or weight. These data illustrate some of the errors in interpretation which can result from the considerable variation and apparently fortuitous changes commonly observed in the rates of growth and maturation in children. The present findings are in agreement with the results of trials conducted in other areas involving children showing some degree of malnutrition and growth retardation and subsisting on relatively inadequate diets.

On the basis of the foregoing it appears that the growth retardation commonly observed in technically underdeveloped areas will not be affected by the administration of vitamin B₁₂.