Abstract
Iron deficiency, a major cause of nutritional anemia, is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world. One of the main causes of iron deficiency anemia in developing countries is poor availability of absorbable iron from the diet. This study investigates the level of iron intake, bio-availability, and adequacy in the diets of women and children in the rural west of Honduras. We find that the dietary iron status of this population is very poor. Fifty-seven percent of the children under one year of age and 23% of 1 to 2 year olds are likely to have inadequate intakes to prevent iron deficiency anemia. Almost all of the pregnant women and 33% of the non-pregnant non-lactating women are at risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. The corn based Honduran diet, owing to high phytate levels, has a low bio-availability for iron. Extremely low intakes of fruits and vegetables and of meats, coupled with significant intake of coffee by all age groups, further limits the availability of dietary iron in the Honduran population.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 285-306 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Ecology of Food Nutrition |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Anemia
- Bio-availability
- Children
- Enhancers
- Honduras
- Inhibitors
- Iron
- Low-income
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Food Science
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Iron in the diets of rural Honduran women and children. / Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam; Swindale, Anne J.
In: Ecology of Food Nutrition, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1999, p. 285-306.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Iron in the diets of rural Honduran women and children
AU - Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam
AU - Swindale, Anne J.
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - Iron deficiency, a major cause of nutritional anemia, is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world. One of the main causes of iron deficiency anemia in developing countries is poor availability of absorbable iron from the diet. This study investigates the level of iron intake, bio-availability, and adequacy in the diets of women and children in the rural west of Honduras. We find that the dietary iron status of this population is very poor. Fifty-seven percent of the children under one year of age and 23% of 1 to 2 year olds are likely to have inadequate intakes to prevent iron deficiency anemia. Almost all of the pregnant women and 33% of the non-pregnant non-lactating women are at risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. The corn based Honduran diet, owing to high phytate levels, has a low bio-availability for iron. Extremely low intakes of fruits and vegetables and of meats, coupled with significant intake of coffee by all age groups, further limits the availability of dietary iron in the Honduran population.
AB - Iron deficiency, a major cause of nutritional anemia, is the most prevalent micronutrient deficiency in the world. One of the main causes of iron deficiency anemia in developing countries is poor availability of absorbable iron from the diet. This study investigates the level of iron intake, bio-availability, and adequacy in the diets of women and children in the rural west of Honduras. We find that the dietary iron status of this population is very poor. Fifty-seven percent of the children under one year of age and 23% of 1 to 2 year olds are likely to have inadequate intakes to prevent iron deficiency anemia. Almost all of the pregnant women and 33% of the non-pregnant non-lactating women are at risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. The corn based Honduran diet, owing to high phytate levels, has a low bio-availability for iron. Extremely low intakes of fruits and vegetables and of meats, coupled with significant intake of coffee by all age groups, further limits the availability of dietary iron in the Honduran population.
KW - Anemia
KW - Bio-availability
KW - Children
KW - Enhancers
KW - Honduras
KW - Inhibitors
KW - Iron
KW - Low-income
KW - Women
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033497664&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0033497664&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
VL - 38
SP - 285
EP - 306
JO - Ecology of Food and Nutrition
JF - Ecology of Food and Nutrition
SN - 0367-0244
IS - 3
ER -