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This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about research on obesity. One of the more frightening aspects of this epidemic is the rate of obesity in young children. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that there’s another possible risk associated with obesity in toddlers: iron deficiency.
Researchers found that overweight toddlers were more likely to be iron deficient. Dr. Jane Brotanek, a UT Southwestern pediatrician, says that children who aren’t weaned from the bottle at the right age may fill up on milk or juice instead of eating other foods. That can lead to a higher-calorie diet that’s also lower in iron. Children in day care were also less likely to have iron deficiency, but researchers aren’t sure why. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia and developmental delays.
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September 2007
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