Inadequacies of Dietary Iron Intake in Normal- and Overweight Young University Students from Leicester, England

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a public health concern in the United Kingdom (UK). The dietary intake of Fe was determined in 111 (20.45 yrs. old; 78 females; 41 Asian, 41 African, and 27 European) De Montfort University (DMU, UK) students between 2015 and 2016. Overall, 25.7% and 8.3% of this population were overweight and obese; meanwhile, 9.2% were underweight. The dietary intake of Fe was significantly higher in male participants (17.700 vs. 13.634 mg/day), which could be attributed to the significantly higher intake of foods rich in bioavailable iron, specifically meat (271.553 vs. 193.063 g/day) in males. Moreover, the dietary intakes of Fe did not show statistical differences according to BMI or ethnic background, which might be attributed to the low/different number of responses. The dietary intakes of Fe recorded were higher than the reference nutrient intake (RNI) established for male (8.7, range = 6.257–43.809) and female (14.7, range = 4.748–40.693; all in mg/day) populations in the UK for most of the participants. Suboptimal iron status could have a negative impact on academic performance that should be tackled by implementing public health strategies to improve body Fe status in university students.