OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the consumption of foods subject to mandatory fortification with iron by pregnant women visiting the Hospital Universitário de Brasília for prenatal care. METHODS: A time-series study that compared 228 paired pregnant women through two cross-sectional assessments: in 2004, before flour fortification, and a year later. Pregnancy, socioeconomic and demographic data, body mass index and food consumption patterns were collected. The latter was determined by applying the Semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire and included foods containing wheat and corn flours. RESULTS: The daily per capita consumption of flours was estimated to be 121.7g (98.7-115.8) in the first interview before fortification and 119.5g (93.6-109.5) in the second interview after fortification (p>0.05), with a greater consumption of wheat flour. The most consumed foods before and after fortification were French bread, cookies, cakes, pasta and corn couscous. The studied pregnant women would have received an extra 5.1mg of iron if fortification had been done according to the legislation, which corresponds to 19% of the Dietary Reference Intake. CONCLUSION: The foods subject to fortification are appropriate vehicles because of their high consumption yet studies that assess the amount of iron added and the bioavailability of the iron compounds used are needed.
Food fortified; Food consumption; Iron; Pregnant women
