Iron Status of Vegetarian Children: A Review of Literature

Abstract

Background: Iron is considered a nutrient of concern for vegetarians. In children, inadequate iron status may lead to anemia and poor growth. Summary: Thirteen original manuscripts met the inclusion criteria. Various biochemical markers of iron status, such as hemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin, were used. Seven of the 13 studies reported the prevalence of iron deficiency separately for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Five out of 7 showed a higher prevalence of iron deficiency among the vegetarian participants, while the other 2 showed a higher prevalence of iron deficiency among non-vegetarians. A wide range of iron deficiency prevalence, from 4.3% of vegetarian participants in one study to 73% having ferritin <10 µg/L in another study, was found. Hb data showed almost as wide variations from 0% of children having Hb values lower than 11 g/dL to 47.5% having Hb values below 3rd percentile. Key Messages: The prevalence of iron deficiency among vegetarian children varies considerably from one study to another. The wide variation in the prevalence of inadequate iron status was consistent for studies from industrial and developing countries. The physiological significance of low iron status among vegetarians reported in some studies is unknown.

The challenges of defining a healthy and ‘sustainable’ diet

“…At present, there is only limited evidence to substantiate this, most of which is from studies in adults. A review of vitamin B12 status among adolescent vegetarians reported a deficiency prevalence of 21–41% (based on methylmalonic acid concentration – one of several vitamin B12 status markers), based on two small‐scale studies where participants followed a macrobiotic diet until age 6 years, before switching to a lacto‐vegetarian (consume dairy only), lacto‐ovo vegetarian (consume dairy and eggs) or omnivorous diet (Pawlak & Bell 2013).…”

Vegane Kinderernährung: Hinweise zur praktischen Umsetzung

“…Studienergebnisse zur Prävalenz eines Eisenmangels bei vegetarischer (inkl. vegane) Kinderernährung sind jedoch nicht eindeutig [30]. Eine Supplementie-rung von Eisen sollte erst nach Diagnose eines Eisenmangels erfolgen [31].…”

Is vegetarianism healthy for children?

“…Studies on vegetarians have generally shown them to be at much greater risk for iron deficiency. Although most studies show that vegetarians=vegans tend to have a similar or higher daily intake of iron compared with omnivores, the former tend to have significantly lower mean serum ferritin concentrations due to the lower bioavailability of iron in the vegetarian diet (see, e.g., Baines, Powers, and Brown 2007;Ball and Bartlett 1999;Pawlak and Bell 2017;Snyder, Dvorak, and Roepke 1989;Wilson and Ball 1999). Wilson and Ball (1999), for example, found that among Australian men, iron intake among vegetarians and vegans was 29-49%…”