Obese Toddlers More Likely To Be Iron Defficient

Boston (dBTechno) - In yet another study discussing the health risks of obesity, researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found that obese toddlers have an incredibly high rate of iron deficiency.

The researchers found that 20 percent of obese toddlers have an iron deficiency, compared to only 7 percent in average sized toddlers.

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia. It is a condition in which blood lacks adequate healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen to tissues. As the name implies, iron deficiency anemia is due to insufficient iron. Your body needs the element iron to make hemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen.

A poor diet is likely to blame.

“Dietary practices may play an important role since diets high in calories but poor in micronutrients may lead to both iron deficiency and overweight” children, researchers wrote in the journal Pediatrics

Toddlers often drink too much milk and juice — which are typically low in iron — and are not given enough solid food, said Dr. Jane Brotanek of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, a study co-author.

“What you put in your baby’s bottle can affect your child’s future,” she said.

The researchers also found that children who attend day care facilities are 50 percent less likely to have an iron deficiency. Day care providers sometimes pay more attention to diet and nutrition, Brotanek noted.

The findings were based on a study of 1,641 children aged 1 to 3.

Once you become deficient in iron to the point you develop anemia, increased intake of iron-rich foods is usually all that is needed. Doctors may recommend a daily multivitamin containing iron or iron tablets such as prescription ferrous sulphate.

The study appears in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics.