Dietary sources of iron in English adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents have been identified as a group in which iron intake may be inadequate. Previous studies have reported values for total iron intake but few have reported iron intake from different dietary sources. Information on the proportion of dietary iron provided by different food groups provides a clearer insight into the adequacy of the diet and assists health education.This paper reports the contribution of different food groups to total iron intake in 379, 11 to 12‐year‐old, adolescents. Each child completed two 3‐day dietary records between January and July 1990, and was interviewed by one dietitian to clarify information recorded. Food tables were used to calculate nutrient intake.Total iron intake was 11.7 mg/day in boys and 11.2 mg/day in girls. The four most important sources of iron were meat and meat products (18.7%), breakfast cereals (14.8%), bread (11.9%) and potatoes (11.1%). Vegetables contributed only 3.4%. An appreciable amount of iron was derived from chocolate (4.1%). Less ‘desirable’ foods i.e. crisps, chips and chocolate together accounted for 13% of the total iron intake. The contribution to total iron intake by each source was similar for boys and girls.