Assessment of the Relationship Between Iron Status, Dietary Intake, Performance, and Mood State of Female Army Officers in a Basic Training Population

摘要

The relationship between iron status, nutrition, physical and cognitive performance, and mood state of 57 women during officer basic training was examined. Measures of iron status upon entering training showed that 33% of the women were iron deficient based on serum ferritin levels (20 ug/l) and 7% were anemic based on low hemoglobin levels (<12 g/dl). By the completion of basic training, iron deficiency and anemia were found in 64% and 13% of the women, respectively. Mean intakes were low for energy, protein, folic acid, magnesium, and zinc. Dietary iron intake was less than the allowance in 50% of the women. However, serum markers of iron status were not significantly related to dietary iron intakes. Physical fitness of volunteers was well above comparably-aged servicewomen and improved during the 8 weeks of training. There was no effect of iron depletion on any measure of physical performance, mood, or reaction time. This study examined acute effects of iron deficiency. Future studies need to examine chronic iron deficiency effects on performance.