Iron Deficiencies

Experts haveobserved for years that endurance athletes,particularly females,frequently haveiron deficiencies.Now a new study by a team of Purdue Universityresearchers

suggests that evenmoderate exercise may lead to reduced iron in the blood of women.

"We found thatwomen who were normally inactive and then started a program of moderateexercise showed evidence of iron loss,"says Roseanne M.Lyle,associateprofessor

at Purdue.Her studyof 62 formerly inactive women who began exercising three times a week for sixmonths was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports &

Exercise."Womenwho consumed additional meat or took iron supplements were able to bounceback,"she notes."But the new exercisers who followed their normaldiet

showed a significantdecrease in iron levels."

Iron deficiency isvery common among women in general,affecting one in four female teenagers andone in five women aged 18 to 45,respectively.But the ratio is even

greater among activewomen,affecting up to 80 percent of female endurance athletes.This means,Lylesays,that"too many women ignore the amount of iron they take in."

Women ofchildbearing age are at greatest risk,since their monthly bleeding is a majorsource of iron loss.Plus,many health-conscious women increase their risk byrejecting

red meat,whichcontains the most easily absorbed form of iron.And because women often restricttheir diet in an effort to control weight,they may not consume enough iron-

rich food,and areliable to experience a deficiency.

"The average womantakes in only two thirds of the recommended daily allowance of iron,"notes another expert."For a woman who already has a poor iron status,any

additional iron lossfrom exercise may be enough to tip her over the edge into a more seriousdeficiency,"notes the expert. Exercise can result in iron loss through avariety of

mechanisms.Some ironis lost in sweat,and,for unknown reasons,intense endurance exercise issometimes associated with bleeding of the digestive system.

The best sources ofiron,and the only sources of the form of iron most readily absorbed by thebody,are meat,chicken,and fish.Good sources of other forms of iron include

dates,beans,and someleafy green vegetables.Who will have asignificant decrease in iron levels?

A.All the women.

B.All the inactivewomen.

C.Women who start todo moderate exercise and follow their normal diet.

D.Women who start todo moderate exercise and consume additional meat or take iron supplements.