Summary
This double-blind randomised controlled trial evaluated whether consumption of iron-fortified lentils over 4 months could improve cognitive performance and iron status in 359 adolescent girls in Bangladesh. Participants in the iron-fortified lentil condition showed significantly better cognitive performance on most tasks and smaller declines in iron status compared to control and usual-intake groups, with improvements in cognitive performance associated with improvements in iron status.
Regional applicability
This study was conducted in Bangladesh and is directly applicable to South Asian contexts where iron deficiency is highly prevalent among adolescent girls. The findings may inform food fortification strategies in the United Kingdom for vulnerable populations, though UK fortification programmes and dietary patterns differ substantially and iron deficiency prevalence is lower in the general UK population.
Key measures
Iron status biomarkers; cognitive tasks (simple reaction time, go/no-go, attentional network task, Sternberg memory search, cued recognition)
Outcomes reported
The study measured cognitive performance (reaction time, attention, memory, recognition) and iron status biomarkers in adolescent girls over a 4-month period comparing iron-fortified lentils, control lentils, and usual intake. Iron-fortified lentil consumption resulted in better cognitive performance and improved iron status relative to control conditions.
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