Iron Deficiency
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Iron deficiency is common, with at least 25% of the population being at risk of iron deficiency. The following are the groups who may be at a high risk of having an iron deficiency:
- Women and girls who are menstruating
Women and girls who are menstruating need more iron to replace that which has been lost during monthly menstruation. Women and girl who have heavy menstrual low and longer menstrual periods may be at a higher risk of iron deficiency due to the higher than normal blood loss each month. - Teenage girls
Teenage girls need extra iron to enable their continuous growth and development. - Babies and toddlers
Babies and toddlers need a lot of iron, due to their rapid growth and development and if they do not get enough iron, may fall behind in their mental development. - Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding need more iron to supply to their growing foetus or newborn child for their proper growth and development. - Athletes
Athletes may need extra iron because they are using more of it when they are exercising - it helps provide more oxygen to their cells to help with cell respiration and endurance.
Iron deficiency is common, with at least 25% of the population being at risk of iron deficiency at any given time
- People who are malnourished
People who are malnourished are not eating enough of any foods, so may become deficient not just in iron but in all the minerals and vitamins. - People under stress for a long period
People who experience long term stress may become deficient in iron, because their body uses the stores of iron for dealing with the stress (including all the tissues in the body affected by it) and especially the lack of cell respiration could result in anaemia. - People who have lost a lot of blood
People who have lost a great deal of blood through an accident or injury or even in surgery will need to have their blood loss reversed through supplementation, either intravenously (if it an acute deficiency) or through tablet / liquid supplementation. - Vegetarians or vegans
People who eat a predominantly vegetarian diet may become deficient in iron if they are not eating the plant foods rich in iron with foods rich in vitamin C. - People with anaemia
People who have the condition anaemia either do not have enough red blood cell, haemoglobin or stored red blood cells. Anaemia can be due to a variety of factors, but iron-deficient anaemia is directly due to a deficiency of iron in the diet.