Women need to develop greater awareness about the importance of an adequate iron intake, said the senior medical officer at the National Nutrition Centre, Dr May Khin Than.

Her comments follow the release of figures by the Health Ministry showing that anaemia affects 58 per cent of pregnant women as well as 26 per cent of adolescent girls, who comprise 18 per cent of the population.

Dr May Khin Than said more than 50 per cent of children aged under five in Myanmar were also affected by anaemia, a situation she described as “quite serious.”

As well as an inadequate daily iron intake, Dr May Khin Than said the other causes of anaemia included the poor absorption of iron by the body, pregnancy, growth spurts in children and blood loss caused by heavy periods or haemorrhaging.

She said the symptoms of anaemia included fatigue, irritability, dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, brittle nails, headaches and decreased appetite, especially in children.

She said the minimum daily-recommended iron intake was 1.5 milligrams for women and one milligram for men.

The best sources of iron are red meat, liver, green vegetables, and Vitamin C. Tea, coffee, eggs and wheat products hamper the body’s ability to absorb iron.
The National Nutrition Centre, under the Health Department, says the consequences of an iron deficient diet in babies included delayed growth.

Pregnant women who were anaemic were more likely to suffer health complications and have low birth-weight babies.

The centre launched an anaemia control program in 1982 which involved providing education about nutritious food and its preparation and distributing iron tablets to pregnant women.

In 2002 the program began giving the tablets to schoolgirls to build up their iron levels, said Dr May Khin Than.

Iron deficiency is one of the biggest health problems affecting women, show the findings of the National Health Project 2001-2006, published by the Ministry of Health.