Effect of Iron on Work Performance and Thermogenesis

Abstract

The possible effect of iron deficiency in restricting work performance and a role for iron deficiency in mediating subjective feelings of tiredness have been extensively studied over several decades. Early studies gave conflicting results, and it has been difficult to separate out the effects of anaemia, with a reduced blood haemoglobin concentration, whether due to iron deficiency or not, from potential direct effects of depletion of one or more of the other important functional cellular iron compounds described in Chapter 1 (Dallman, 1989a). Conversely, the possible effects of sustained exercise on iron status and the mechanisms underlying a reduced haemoglobin concentration with endurance sports (‘sports anaemia’) have been of interest to athletes anxious to reach optimal competitive performance levels (Anonymous, 1985).