HealthLink: Adolescent girls at greatest risk of low iron intakes and poor iron status
Studies have shown that school age children and adolescents who are iron deficient do not perform as well as those with adequate iron intakes when tested on memory, math and verbal learning.
A study of British children (4-18 years old) published in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition (2003) found that 44% of adolescent girls had low iron intakes. Low iron intakes were less prevalent with high consumption of breakfast cereals. Adolescent girls who were vegetarians or non-Caucasian had significantly poorer iron status than meat eaters or Caucasians, independent of other risk factors. Iron status was significantly correlated with heme iron intake, but not with non-heme iron intake. The authors concluded that the risk of poor iron status may be reduced by consuming meat (particularly lean red meat) and enhancers of non-heme iron absorption.
Iron deficiency may occur in up to 39% of teenage girls in Canada according to a review of Canadian literature by the National Institute of Nutrition (2002). The Food Habits of Canadians study (1999) found that 57% of female teens and 40% of male teens did not consume the minimum number of servings from the Meat and Alternatives food group, a primary source of iron and the only source of heme iron from meat, fish and poultry. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron is 15 mg/day for adolescent girls (14-18 years old) and 18 mg/day for women (19-50 years old). The DRI report on iron notes that people who do not consume meat, fish or poultry need almost twice as much iron.
WANT TO LEARN MORE? Read the abstract for the article in the
Journal of Public Health Nutrition.
Iron for Health - for All Ages.
iron.
Iron Challenge quiz.
Subscribe to HealthLink