Improving the iron status of school children through a school noon meal programme with meals prepared using a multiple micronutrient-fortified salt in Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

To improve the iron status of school children through noon meals prepared using a multiple micronutrient-fortified salt. Children from a randomly selected school who consumed (intervention) and did not consume (reference) a noon meal prepared using a multiple micronutrient- fortified salt were studied over 1 year. A pre-post-test design for children aged 5-17years in reference (n=100) and intervention (n=128) groups was used. Levels of serum ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), alpha glycoprotein (AGP), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed at baseline and at 1 year. In a subsample, urinary iodine was assessed. sTfR decreased in the intervention group (-0.80 mg/L) but increased in the reference group (0.47 mg/L) at 1 year (p=0.0001).Body iron stores (BIS) increased in the intervention group (0.09 mg/kg body weight) and decreased (-0.58 mg/kg body weight) in the reference group at 1 year (p=0.028).These findings indicate an increase in iron deficiency in the reference group and a decrease in the intervention group. However, no changes in serum ferritin and urinary iodine were observed in either group or between groups. Iron status can be improved in schoolchildren in Tamil Nadu by increasing the amount of micronutrients in the fortified salt used for preparing noon-time school meals.