SubscribeWhy Do Obese Children Have Increased Iron Deficiency?
A new study has found a connection between obesity in preschoolers and a greater risk for iron deficiency.
Researchers analyzed blood samples from 960 toddlers and found that “20 percent of obese toddlers have iron deficiency, compared to 7 percent of normal-weight toddlers.”
Iron is the mineral that helps our red blood cells to bind to oxygen, thus helping our bodies create energy. An iron deficiency can eventually lead to anemia and symptoms such as fatigue or weakness.
Interestingly, the study also found that children who were in daycare centers had a 50 percent less risk of having the iron deficiency.
Why?
As to why obese preschoolers are at a higher risk for iron deficiency, experts believe that part of the reason is due to some parents who “let toddlers drink cow's milk and juice from a bottle, instead of weaning them and introducing iron-rich foods such as meat, beans, eggs, spinach and fortified breads.”
Calcium* is also one of several nutrients and foods such as soy products*, coffee, tea and even whole wheat bran* that have been found to interfere with the absorption of iron.
Children in day care centers may be on a better diet when compared to home, thus lowering the rates of iron deficiency.
As researcher, Dr. Jane Brotanek is quoted, "What you put in your baby's bottle can affect your child's future,"
References
- Hallberg L, Brune M, Erlandsson M, et al. Calcium: effect of different amounts on nonheme- and heme-iron absorption in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 1991;53:112–9.
- Hallberg L, Rossander-Hulthén L, Brune M, Gleerup A. Inhibition of haem-iron absorption in man by calcium. Br J Nutr 1992;69:533–40.
- Simpson KM, Morris ER, Cook JD. The inhibitory effect of bran on iron absorption. Am J Clin Nutr 1981;34:1469–78.
- Hallberg L, Rossander L. Effect of soy protein on nonheme iron absorption in man. Am J Clin Nutr 1982;36:514–20.
Kids are probably eating cheap-o carbs instead of meat and vegetables. That would explain both iron deficiency and obesity. Industrial/agricultural diet rather than the one we evolved to eat.
ReplyI thought I read somewhere that an iron deficiency mimicked the symptoms of hypothyroidism - weight gain, intolerance to cold, fatigue etc.
ReplyI could be wrong, but it's an interesting connection.
Maybe there's no causal link between obesity and anemia... Childhood anemia is associated with poverty (eg, a 1991 Canadian study reported "Among infants aged 10 to 14 months of low-income families in Montreal, 24.3% were found to have iron deficiency anemia.")
ReplyAs researcher, Dr. Jane Brotanek is quoted, "What you put in your baby's bottle can affect your child's future,"....I commented on this recently on another blog....I actually saw parents feeding their toddler Coke in his baby bottle. Very sad...
When you look at the state of our "modern" diet consisting mainly of processed and fast food, and my example above, it makes perfect sense to me that these children in the study were deficient in iron. I bet there were other vital minerals and vitamins that they were also deficient in!
ReplyYeah, I see it in many kids that all the foods they consume lack the iron needed for their bodies. Hopefully parents will get kids to eat more meats.
ReplyCoke in a baby bottle? Yikes!
I find it really interesting that we've evolved to better subsist on an "industrial/agricultural" diet. Today's New York Times by Nicholas Wade talks about some genetic research at ASU and UCSC that hint that starch-eating societies have genetically responded. There's been evidence that twice humans have evolved the ability to digest lactose into adulthood (I didn't get that gene, sigh; see article in Scientific American, on their web site).I think it'll be a long time before we evolve the ability to thrive on Twinkies, but my (admittedly pedantic) point is: 500 generations is plenty enough time for evolution to have a sigificant impact. The changes in our diet over two generations, though, has been dramatic.
In terms of anemia in obese preschoolers, though, woof. This sounds like an important problem to work on.
ReplyThe mutant usually dies.
ReplyThe kids are probably overfed but undernourished. They're getting plenty of calories (from HiC, Cheetos, mac and cheese, pizza, and chicken nuggets), but they aren't getting the nutrients they need. If parents would just feed kids REAL food, as opposed to junk, maybe their kids wouldn't have the anemia and they might have enough energy to go outside and play.
ReplyIt's no big surprise to me that kids who are in daycare are less prone to low iron. DCFS here in Illinois has specific menu requirements for mealtimes at daycare centers. I'm sure some of the kids I work with would never eat fruit or vegetables if it weren't for us serving them those items!
ReplyThe foods we are feeding our kids in general are making them deficient in many areas of health. We need to get back to whole foods without the chemicals.
Check out www.smallchanges.info
Reply