Iron status in a healthy population of Hungarian secondary school boys and girls.
Iron status was assessed in a sample of 103 male and 282 female students aged from 15 to 18 years attending secondary schools in Budapest. Using a ferritin model, in boys the prevalence of iron depletion, iron-deficient erythropoiesis and iron-deficient anemia was 3.9, 2.9 and 1.0%, respectively. In girls these values were 9.6, 8.2 and 2.8%, respectively. Males had better eating habits than females. Data for nutrients intake connected with iron status are discussed. The authors recommend the improvement of iron status by dietary means and oppose the indiscriminate iron supplementation.
Antal
M
M
National Institute of Food Hygiene and Nutrition (NIFHN), Budapest, Hungary.
Regöly-Mérei
A
A
Biró
L
L
Greiner
E
E
Sági
K
K
Agfalvy
R
R
Nagy
K
K
Biró
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D012737:Sex Factors
D006454:Hemoglobins; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron