The association between red and processed meat consumption and iron intakes and status among British adults Sigrid Gibson 1, * and Margaret Ashwell 2 1 SiG-Nurture Nutrition Consultancy, 11 Woodway, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2TF, UK: 2 Ashwell Associates, Ashwell Street, Ashwell, Hertfordshire, SG7 5PZ, UK Submitted 21 May 2002: Accepted 14 November 2002 Abstract Objective: To examine the association between consumption of red and processed meat (RPM) and iron intakes and status in adults. Design: Further analysis of the Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults, a cross-sectional study of 2197 adults aged 16 – 64 years carried out in 1986/7. Subjects and methods: Adults (836 men and 838 women) with serum ferritin measurements, who were not taking iron supplements, were classified into four groups according to RPM consumption (from 7-day weighed records). Iron absorbed was estimated from equations based on haem and non-haem iron and the influence of iron stores. Results: Women who ate least meat (, 90 g day 21 ) had three times the risk of a low iron intake (below the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake) compared with high consumers of RPM (. 140 g day 21 ). Men who ate no RPM also had a higher risk of low iron intake. Using an estimate of minimal values for iron losses, there was a twofold difference in the potential risk of negative iron balance between women non-RPM consumers and high RPM consumers. Status measurements indicated that, among women, anaemia was least prevalent (6%) among high consumers compared with 12–14% among average RPM consumers. Inverse trends were also observed for serum ferritin in both sexes. Conclusions: Low consumption of RPM has implications for iron intakes and iron status in men and women, since the risk of negative iron balance and its consequences are increased. Dietary messages must consider these implications and provide appropriate advice. Keywords Meat Iron Intake Absorption Status The consumption of red meat appears to be in long-term decline 1 . The consumption of beef has fallen progressively almost every year since 1987, with a larger than usual fall in 1996 following the announcement of a possible link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and new variant Creutzfeld–Jacob disease 2 . Factors such as vegetarianism and the trend for non-meat eating, the quest for greater convenience, and perceived health risks such as cardiovascular disease and cancer may all have contributed to the decline. A link between red meat and colorectal cancer was originally postulated from work on the carcinogenicity of heterocyclic amines 3 , supported to some extent by epidemiological studies 4,5 . In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)’s report on Food, Nutrition and The Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective rec- ommended that ‘if eaten at all, red meat [should] provide less than 10% of total energy’. The advice to individuals was to ‘limit intake of red meat to less than 80 g daily’. However, the quantitative basis for the recommendation to restrict intake to 80 g day 21 was not given 6 . In 1998, a Working Group report by the Department of Health’s Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA), entitled Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancer 7 , concluded that ‘lower consumption of red and processed meat would probably reduce the risk of colorectal cancer’. The Working Group recommended that ‘[an] individual’s consumption of red and processed meat should not rise; that higher consumers should consider a reduction; and as a consequence of this the population average will fall. Adults with intakes of red and processed meats greater than the current average (90 g/day cooked weight) especially those in the upper reaches of the distribution of intakes (above 140 g/day cooked weight) where the scientific data are more robust, might benefit from, and should consider a reduction in intake. It is not recommended that adults with intakes below the current average should reduce their intakes. The wider nutritional implications of any reduction should be assessed ... Meat and meat products are a valuable source of a number of nutrients, including iron, whose average intake in some sectors of the population is low.’ q The Authors 2003 *Corresponding author: Email sigridgibson@ntlworld.com Public Health Nutrition: 6(4), 341–350 DOI: 10.1079/PHN2002442