Iron intake alone cannot reduce anemia says study:- An increase in the supply of iron supplements among the rural and the poor communities isn't enough to address anemia prevalence in the country. This is drawn as per the recent study by the researchers from the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN). The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition. The results are drawn from the data on iron deficiency in the blood samples that are collected in the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) that was conducted between 2016 and 2018 under MOHFW. The increase in iron intake alone cannot result in the benefits for anemia reduction as there are other factors that are considered like the poor diet quality and the iron absorption and utilization.

Dr R Hemalatha, the Director of NIN said that the anemia prevalence increases through supplemental iron tablets or iron fortification. The study was conducted on 33,000 children across the country. The results revealed that 30-32 percent of the children had iron deficiency. The anemia prevalence is higher in kids residing in rural children who live below the poverty line. Health experts said that the diet quality is important for hemoglobin efficiency. An unhygienic environment also reduces the absorption of iron and the utilization of hemoglobin synthesis. The population-level estimates of iron deficiency can be useful to understand the anemia amenable for the supplementation of iron.