Sports and wellness nutrition brand Steadfast Nutrition launched a campaign called as #KnowIronNoAnaemia ahead of Women's Day. It highlighted the acute problem of iron-deficiency anaemia among Indian women and corrective measures to bridge the gap. Steadfast Nutrition conducted a pan-India survey, a social experiment, and an awareness drive at Gurugram’s SGT University to educate people and learn about their awareness (or lack) of iron-deficiency anaemia.

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The brand also distributed iron and protein supplements among school girls in the tribal belt of Talasari, Maharashtra as part of a menstrual hygiene camp and conducted a health check-up in the office to test the gap in haemoglobin levels of men and women.

Commenting on the campaign, Steadfast Nutrition founder Aman Puri said, “Steadfast Nutrition wanted to highlight the grave problem of iron-deficiency anaemia among Indian women and the gap between men and women in the country. Iron deficiency is a huge barrier that stops women from attaining optimal health and well-being and reaching their full potential. Through our campaign, we educated people about the necessity of having iron-rich foods and vitamin C (which enhances iron absorption) in a woman’s diet. Steadfast Nutrition will continue to take proactive steps to make India anaemia-free.”

Steadfast Nutrition conducted a survey on anaemia among people of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and students of three universities in the National Capital Region- Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad, SGT University, and Noida’s Amity University. It educated the same set of people about proactive measures they can take to tackle the problem.

The survey asked people, including students, whether they got their haemoglobin levels tested every six months, were aware of how much iron to take everyday, their frequency of consuming iron-rich foods, whether they took vitamin C-rich foods with iron (which improves iron absorption), and tea or coffee with their meals.

Of the 190 people who responded to the survey, 59.7 percent said they didn’t get their haemoglobin levels tested every six months, 40 percent were not aware of their daily iron requirement, 72.4 percent did not take vitamin C supplements regularly, and 56 percent were unaware tea and coffee could reduce iron absorption. However, most respondents (93.2 percent) had heard of iron of iron-deficiency anaemia, 71 percent consumed vitamin C-rich foods daily, and 77 percent were aware of the causes and symptoms of anaemia.

In the social experiment (video), Steadfast Nutrition did a case study of four urban women, asking them about their success stories and a series of questions testing their awareness about a healthy, iron-friendly diet. The women didn’t invest enough in their health, didn’t get their haemoglobin levels tested once a year, skipped meals, and had tea and coffee with their meals, which inhibits iron absorption. The video highlighted the findings of the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 that 57 percent of women in the age group of 15-49, 59 percent of adolescent women, and 52 percent of pregnant women are anaemic. It asks women to get their haemoglobin levels tested regularly and eat iron-and vitamin C-rich foods.

In the office health check-up- of the 70 employees whose haemoglobin levels were tested, 21 females and only three males were anaemic, reinforcing the fact that iron-deficiency anaemia is more significant among women.

First Published:Mar 8, 2023 4:59 PM IST