Nutritionist Urges Iron Consumption Among Women

Nigeria has been descried
as having the largest case of micronutrient deficiency in the world with anaemia as the most common. Women of reproductive age share 49 percent of the statistics, 24.3 per cent have low iron supplies and 12.7 percent are iron deficient.
The president, Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN) Prof. Ngozi Nnam who revealed this at a press conference organised by Uniliever Nigeria in partnership with NSN on the impact of iron deficiency Anaemia  in Nigeria, said the figures speak volumes about women’s and children’s  health.
Nnam noted that majority of adolescent girls and women did not meet the iron requirements of 20 milligrams per day as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the world Health Organisation (WHO).
Explaining that iron deficiency was a condition in which the red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insuffient to meet physiological needs of the body, Nnam revealed the conditions of anaemia to include fatigue, dizziness, weakness, drowsiness, shortages of breath among others adding that all these militate against active living and human productivity as iron is critical to learning process and energy for day-to-day activities.
Nnam said “iron is one of the most prevalent micro nutrition deficiencies globally, with almost one of every two women of reproductive age being anaemic in Nigeria. The adolescent girls and pregnant women are the segment requiring the highest amount of iron intake and are therefore, more susceptible to iron”.
“This segment is the most vulnerable to iron deficiency anaemia because of high iron requirements. Increasing iron intake during adolescence to prepare for pregnancy is crucial to decreasing the risk of iron deficiency anaemia and negative birth outcomes”, she stated.
The NSN president further noted that the typical Nigerian diet was low in iron-rich foods, while cassava and cereals (high in phytate, which decreases iron absorption) are commonly eaten staples.
He maintained  that these commonly consumed traditional dishes may not provide sufficient iron to meet the requirements saying “it may be a challenge to manipulate these recipes as they are passed down from generation to generation.
Earlier  the Hygience and Nutrition Social mission Director, Africa, Unilever, Myriam Sidibe revealed that the press conference was aimed at providing more sensitisation to the general public on the importance of iron nutrients to the health of individuals.
While noting that women and children were the group of people more vulnerable to  anaemia, Sidibe said “these issues are common among our women and teenage girls and yet, these people are the bedrock and foundation of the home and family which is the unit of the nation. They are the critical people in the society and their health is important to nation building. We had to put this together to educate them on the need for them to go for iron-rich food consumption for their health and that of the nation”.