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| Health home > Public Health nutrition home > Child nutrition > Child nutrition tip sheets > Iron deficiency | |||
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Child nutrition
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| Risk factors for the development of iron deficiency in children include: prematurity, low birth weight, gastrointestinal disease (malabsorption or blood loss), exclusive breastfeeding beyond 6 months, introduction of cow’s milk as the main drink before 12 months, and high intake of cow’s milk, delayed introduction of solids, low (or no) meat intake and general poor diet in the second year. |
Recommended dietary intakes of iron
The current Australian recommended dietary intakes of iron range from
0.5mg/day for breastfed infants to 3 mg/day for formula-fed infants,
9mg/day for 7-12month olds, 6-8 mg/day for 1-11 year olds, and 10-13
mg/day for 12-18 year olds.
Breastfed infants
Exclusively breastfed infants receive an adequate iron intake for around 6
months, and iron deficiency is uncommon in full-term breastfed infants, due
to the highly efficient absorption of iron from breast milk. Changes to the
maternal diet or maternal supplements of iron do not affect the iron composition
of breast milk and confer no advantage to the infant. Mothers on iron supplements
for their own benefit, should of course continue these supplements as advised.
Formula-fed infants
All infant formulas contain between 7 and 12 mg iron per 1000mls, therefore
providing adequate dietary iron for infants in a volume of formula around 700-1000mls
per day.
Foods
The best sources of dietary iron for young children are red meats such as lamb
and beef, with moderate amounts in fish and chicken. These foods contain ‘haem’ iron
with a bioavailability, or absorption factor, of around 10%. Non-haem sources
of iron have a lower bioavailability and are found in fortified breakfast cereals,
eggs, legumes, wholegrain bread and cereals, and some vegetables.
The addition of foods rich in Vitamin C, such as citrus fruit, tomatoes or berries to a meal can greatly increase the absorption of iron from that meal in a dose-dependent way.
Iron intakes of young children in Australia seem to be low: in the 1995
National Nutrition Survey around one-third of 2-3 year-olds had iron
intakes below the recommended dietary intake on the day of the survey,
and ten percent were below 70% of the RDI.
Symptoms of iron deficiency such as lethargy and poor development may
occur before the blood levels of haemoglobin decrease. Iron deficiency
has been linked with developmental problems such as psychomotor and mental
delay and reduced immune function. Some studies suggest that treatment
to correct the iron deficiency does not necessarily allow full ‘catch up’ to
expected developmental levels. A large number of iron deficient children
will have no symptoms at all and are undiagnosed until the child has a
medical examination for an unrelated reason.
Include red meat 3 to 4 times per week. It is recommended that young
children consume between a half and one serving of meat or meat alternatives
per day. A sample serve is 65-100 g cooked meat or chicken, half a
cup of cooked dried beans, lentils, chick peas or canned beans, 80-120g
of cooked fish fillet, 2 small eggs, one-third of a cup of nuts (or
nut paste).
Include a food rich in Vitamin C, such as tomato, capsicum, berries,
orange or mandarin with non-meat sources of iron.
Toddlers who are reluctant eaters may be encouraged to consume adequate
iron with foods such as minced meats, fortified breakfast cereals, smooth
nut pastes and eggs.
Limit cow’s milk to 600 mls per day.
In some cases a child multivitamin and mineral may be recommended to
supplement a poor dietary iron intake, whilst longer-term feeding strategies
can be introduced.
Prepared by the Department of Nutrition and Food Services Royal Children's Hospital
The document below is a summary of the information on this page.
Last updated:
13 March, 2008
This web site is managed and authorised by Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, Public Health Branch, Rural & Regional Health & Aged Care Services Division of the Victorian State Government, Department of Human Services, Australia |
