Associations of fish and meat intake with iron and anaemia in Malawian children

Abstract Animal flesh foods are rich in bioavailable iron but infrequently consumed by young children. We aimed to determine whether flesh food intake was associated with iron and anaemia status among 585 Malawian infants enroled in a 6‐month egg‐feeding trial. The percentage of days of small fish, large fish and meat consumption were assessed through weekly 7‐day animal‐source food screeners. Grams of intake were assessed through 24‐h recalls conducted at 6–9, 9–12 and 12–15 months of age. Plasma ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and haemoglobin concentrations were measured at 6–9 and 12–15 months of age. Iron biomarkers were adjusted for inflammation during analysis. At enrolment, each flesh food category was consumed by