Peddling pots – a new weapon against iron deficiency?

An estimated 3.6 billion people worldwide are iron deficient. Women and young children are at greatest risk. Strategies to tackle this problem include iron supplements and fortified foods, but their success has been limited. Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine tested an alternative approach: the use of iron pots for cooking.

The study took place in two rural villages in the Shire Valley in southern Malawi, where malaria is rife. Researchers gave each household either an iron or an aluminium cooking pot and followed their progress for 20 weeks. Results from 164 participants eating from aluminium cooking pots and 158 using iron pots showed that:

• more than three quarters of children and 55 per cent of adults were anaemic at baseline
• after six weeks, the mean haemoglobin level in adults who consistently ate from an iron cooking pot was 6.8 g/l higher than in those using aluminium pots. The difference remained significant at 20 weeks
• there was no significant difference in haemoglobin change between the two groups of children. But there was a reduction in iron deficiency among iron pot users
• a high proportion of children and adults had malaria parasites in their blood.

The researchers conclude that the regular use of iron pots for cooking will improve haemoglobin concentration in adults and reduce iron deficiency in children living in malaria endemic areas. Widespread introduction of iron pots might be justified in communities with high levels of iron-deficiency anaemia, where regular iron supplementation is impossible and food fortification is problematic. The success of such a programme could be improved by:

• ensuring the consistent use of iron pots
• reducing the consumption of foods that inhibit iron absorption
• improving the design of pots to make them more acceptable and durable
• producing pots locally to reduced costs.

Source(s):
‘The effect on haemoglobin or the use of iron cooking pots in rural Malawian households in an area with high malaria prevalence: a randomized trial’, Tropical Medicine and International Health 8 (4): 310-315, by P. Geerligs, B. Brabin, A. Mkumbwa, R. Broadhead and L. Cuevas, 2003

Funded by: The Bush Hospital Foundation

id21 Research Highlight: 17 November 2003

Further Information:
Paul Geerligs
Tropical Child Health Group
Division of Tropical Medicine
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Pembroke Place
Liverpool L3 5QA
UK

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK

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