Deakin University’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN) is seeking Victorian women aged 16 years and over to be part of an exciting new study ”WIZE – Women’s Iron, Zinc and Energy Study” to find out the impact of iron and zinc on women’s mood, feelings of fatigue and ability to concentrate.

C-PAN’s Associate Professor Lynn Riddell said that many premenopausal women are at risk of iron deficiency and one in five women were also at risk of not consuming enough zinc to meet their dietary needs.

“30 per cent of women have depleted iron stores and 12 per cent have low zinc stores and boosting the intake of these nutrients is needed to ensure optimal health.

”Measuring iron concentration in a person’s blood, which is relatively easy to do, doesn’t really tell us enough useful information about their bodies zinc levels.  Currently very little is known about the zinc status of Australian women as it is a tricky nutrient to measure in the body.

”The WIZE study sets out to measure both iron and zinc levels in women and find out what factors prevent iron and zinc absorption in pre-menopausal Australian women. We need to better understand types of diets that meet the dietary needs of both of these nutrients and the health consequences associated with different intake levels of these nutrients.

“If iron levels are found to be low, we also hope to assist these women to improve them using a mobile phone application,” said Associate Professor Riddell.

“It is our hope that the WIZE study will help us get a picture of the relationship between iron and zinc status and mood, fatigue, depression and memory. We then aim to develop dietary and lifestyle advice that women can sustain across their lifespan to help them maintain their health and wellbeing through diets that support optimal iron and zinc nutrition,” she said.

Participation will involve completing a questionnaire on diet, physical activity, sleep and a medical history, height and weight measurements and require a fasting blood test.  If you are interested, please call Project Manager Manuela Rigo on (03) 9244 6380 or visit:

http://wizestudy.weebly.com

http://facebook.com/wizestudy

C-PAN’s work in physical activity and nutrition is leading the world globally in numerous areas including research into disadvantaged communities, children’s health and healthy ageing.