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Mild to moderate anaemia could leave you too tired to get enough exercise

Supplementing with iron makes your workout more effective

Natural Health News — Women who take iron supplements experience a marked improvement in their exercise performance according to new data.

Iron deficiency can also produce fatigue and lethargy and eventually result in iron deficiency anemia. This can lead to a spiral where women feel unable to get the exercise they need to stay healthy.

So researchers from the University of Melbourne undertook a systematic review and analysis of the effect of iron supplementation to the exercise performance of women in child-bearing years.

The study, a ‘meta-analysi’s of previous trials, combined data from many individual smaller studies and the results are published in the Journal of Nutrition.

According to lead researcher, Dr Sant-Rayn Pasricha from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health iron supplementation improved women’s exercise performance, in terms of both the highest level they could achieve at 100% exertion (maximal capacity) and their exercise efficiency at a submaximal exertion – in other words women who supplemented with iron were able to perform a given exercise using a lower heart rate and at a higher efficiency.

“This was mainly seen in women who had been iron deficient or anemic at the beginning of the trial and in women who were specifically training, including in elite athletes,” he said.

Deficiency more common in women

Dr Pasricha said the findings could have implications for improved performance in athletes and health and general health and well-being in the rest of the population.

“It may be worthwhile screening women, including women training as elite athletes, for iron deficiency, and ensuring they receive appropriate prevention and treatment strategies.” said Dr Pasricha.

Mild to moderate iron-deficiency anemia is more common in women of childbearing age and may have no signs or symptoms. It is only when deficiency becomes serious with symptoms like brittle nails, swelling or soreness of the tongue, cracks in the sides of the mouth, an enlarged spleen and frequent infections that doctors might think to test for it.

Previous studies have shown that iron deficiency can affect women ability to women  work productively.