Effect of a Dietary Iron Program on Iron Status and IQ in Children in Phatthalung Province, Thailand

Iron deficiency (ID) continues to be one of the most prevalent disorders, which can adversely affect cognitive ability in childhood. Our aim was to determine the effect of a dietary iron education program (DIP) on children's iron status and intelligence quotient (IQ) score. This pre-test (week 1) post-test (week 16) quasi-experimental study with follow-up (week 18) utilized constructs from the Health Belief Model. Children and caregivers participated in the DIP which incorporated group talks, presentations, brainstorming, game-based learning and cooking sessions from weeks 2-15. Knowledge of ID and dietary iron, perceived susceptibility and severity, benefits and barriers for changing behavior, dietary intake, iron status and IQ score were determined at all timepoints (weeks 1, 16, and 18).