Significant heterogeneity was evident , and its predictors included greater weight-for-age in supplemented children in malaria hyperendemic regions and greater weight-for-height for children above 5 years of age , but a negative effect on linear growth in developed countries and with supplementation for 6 months or longer .
This review did not document a positive effect of iron supplementation on the physical growth of children .
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on  physical growth in children through a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) .
Effects of an energy and micronutrient supplement on anthropometry in undernourished children in Indonesia
Objectives : This paper reports the effects of early supplementary feeding on body weight , length , head circumference and arm circumference among the children in the Pangalengan study . Design : Two cohorts of children were r and omly assigned to three treatments : E=1171 kJ+12 mg iron ; M=209 kJ+12 mg iron ; S=104 kJ. Supplementation was given for 12 months . Setting : The sites were six tea plantations in Pangalengan , West Java . Subjects : A 12-month-old ( n=53 ) and an 18-month-old ( n=83 ) cohort were recruited from day-care centers . Twenty children that received S belonged to the 12- and 18-month cohorts . Inclusion criteria were : no chronic disease ; length-for-age≤−1 st and ard deviation ( s.d . ) and weight-for-length between −1 and −2 s.d . of the median of the reference of the World Health Organization . Methods : Length was measured with a portable measuring board ; a Detecto scale with an accuracy of 0.1 kg was used for the measurement of body weight . Arm and head circumferences were measured using similar fiberglass tapes . Results : Body weight showed effects on both cohorts at 2 , 8 and 12 months ; head circumference showed effects at 4 months in the 12-month-old cohort and at 10 months among the females of the 18-month-old cohort ; and arm circumference showed effects across cohorts at 2 , 8 and 12 months . In general the benefits are clearer for females and for the 12-month-old cohort . Sponsorship : Nestlé Foundation . European Journal of Clinical Nutrition ( 2000 ) 54 , Suppl 2 ,
Significant heterogeneity was evident , and its predictors included greater weight-for-age in supplemented children in malaria hyperendemic regions and greater weight-for-height for children above 5 years of age , but a negative effect on linear growth in developed countries and with supplementation for 6 months or longer .
This review did not document a positive effect of iron supplementation on the physical growth of children .
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of iron supplementation on  physical growth in children through a systematic review of r and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) .