Professor Saliou Diouf is a pediatrician specializing in pediatric nutrition. On the sidelines of an intensive session of a series of training modules on child nutrition which is being held in Dakar for two days as part of the “Making a difference from an early age” program with the aim of strengthening African journalists (e)s in matters of child nutrition, he answered our questions on iron deficiency. From conception to birth, Professor Diouf took stock of behaviors for good child health, not without emphasizing that 71% of children are anemic.
Professor how can you explain iron deficiency in simple terms?
It is in a way an iron deficiency in the body.
In toddlers, it is a very common deficiency which has enormous consequences on the child’s development, but also on cognitive and brain development. This is why it is really important to prevent this deficiency which is very common in the African region.
Does that mean it’s alarming?
This is very, very, alarming. In Senegal, the latest surveys show that 71% of children are anemic, and in the vast majority of cases, this anemia is linked to iron deficiency. It has consequences that can sometimes even be considered disastrous. And these consequences are sometimes not very visible like that. They may be unknown or neglected, but have real consequences, particularly on the brain.
What are the most common causes in toddlers?
For toddlers, we can start from birth. Generally, children who are born with low weight already start with an iron capital that is relatively low, which often requires supplementation, supplementation from the first weeks of life.
Apart from that, the main cause in reality is a power problem. If it is not rich in iron, because it contains no protein, that is to say no or little meat, no or little fish, there are not enough eggs, the eggs are not as good. But it is especially meat and fish that contain iron, which is the most usable by the body. Vegetables and fruits can also contain iron, and it is often iron that is used less well than iron from meat and fish. But you need a bit of everything, meat, fish, vegetables, fruit. The other benefit of fruit is that it provides vitamin C, and vitamin C, the benefit of eating fruit associated with meat is that the fruit will provide vitamin C and vitamin C increases iron absorption. This is the point of having a diversified diet, this is what is most lacking in the diet of Senegalese infants and which means that iron deficiency is very common among Senegalese children, particularly those aged between 6 month and 23 months.
We focus on the first 1000 days to prevent its occurrence. How important is it to take care of these first 1000 days?
So, the first 1000 days of life is the period from conception, therefore from the start of pregnancy, until the age of 2. Today, we know that this is the most important period of life and that many illnesses that occur even in adulthood were programmed during this period. Diet plays a crucial role during this period of life. Unfortunately, deficiencies such as iron and other micronutrient deficiencies are more common during this period.
This sensitive period of individual development unfortunately corresponds to the period when there are the most deficiencies, particularly in iron, zinc, etc. I can even say that it is disastrous. These are little-known or neglected deficiencies, but which have many consequences in terms of the frequency of infectious diseases, in terms of poor growth, particularly for zinc deficiency, but also in terms of diseases which will occur later, such as diabetes. , hypertension, etc.
We advocate breast milk. Is breast milk sufficient to meet the amount of iron required for the child?
During the first months of life, up to 6 months, a child who was born full term and who has not been subject to infections or recurrences, and who exclusively takes milk, in principle, should not be deficiency. The deficiency will occur later, beyond 6 months, precisely because the diversification is not done well. In the majority of Senegalese families, dietary diversification is not done well.
During pregnancy, can the mother’s diet have an impact on the child and more specifically cause iron deficiency at birth?
Yes! The mother’s diet plays an important role. It is not for nothing that mothers are given iron and folic acid during pregnancy. This is very important.
A mother who is deficient, her child is more likely to be deficient. Prevention begins with pregnancy, perhaps even before pregnancy. Before the woman becomes pregnant, she must have satisfactory fairy capital. But unfortunately, due to the iron needs which are very high in pregnant women, the diet often does not follow. This is why, moreover, there is the iron-folic acid supplementation program, this program that we give to pregnant women. But even there, there are some problems, including compliance issues and others. But pregnant women must also benefit from an adequate diet containing, what I just said earlier, proteins, but also vegetables and fruits to increase iron absorption.
