Strategies to Prevent Iron Deficiency in Developing and Developed Countries

Iron deficiency in utero and in the first post-natal years can have long-term effects on children’s development especially in relation to brain growth and development. Since the human species has evolved to succeed on the basis of a large and complex brain any deficits in cognitive ability contribute strongly to reductions in the ‘human capital’ of nations as well as harming the individual. Thus iron status is an important component of programming for a healthy life.