Iron nutrition in adolescence

Abstract

Adolescence is an important period of nutritional vulnerability due to increased dietary requirements for growth and development. Iron needs are elevated as a result of intensive growth and muscular development, which implies an increase in blood volume; thus, it is extremely important for the adolescent's iron requirements to be met. Diet, therefore, must provide enough iron and, moreover, nutrients producing adequate iron bioavailability to favor element utilization and thus be sufficient for needs at this stage of life. Currently, many adolescents consume monotonous and unbalanced diets which may limit mineral intake and/or bioavailability, leading to iron deficiency and, consequently, to ferropenic anemia, a nutritional deficit of worldwide prevalence. Iron deficiency, apart from provoking important physiological repercussions, can adversely affect adolescents' cognitive ability and behavior. Accordingly, promoting the consumption of a varied, adjusted, and balanced diet by adolescents will facilitate iron utilization, benefiting their health both at present and in adulthood. This review discusses how physiological changes during adolescence can cause iron requirements to increase. Consequently, it is important that diet should contribute an appropriate amount of this mineral and, moreover, with an adequate bioavailability to satisfy needs during this special period of life.