A Scoping Review of Nutritional Intake and Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls with Anemia

Anemia is a significant health concern in adolescents, linked to diminished physical stamina and productivity. Menstruation is a prevalent cause of iron deficiency anemia. If this persists until pregnancy, it may elevate the risk of having infants with low birth weight. Consequently, efficacious preventive interventions are necessary. This literature review investigates the correlation between dietary intake and physical activity with anemia in adolescent girls. The evaluation was per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards. A thorough search was conducted across various databases, including PubMed (n = 59), Scopus (n = 103), and ScienceDirect (n = 5546), along with manual citation tracking (n = 6) and previously published reviews (n = 2), yielding a total of 5708 articles. Following the screening process, 157 articles were eliminated for irrelevance, four articles were deemed inaccessible, and 14 articles were added based on the eligibility assessment. The results emphasize that macronutrient and micronutrient consumption are essential for erythropoiesis and the prevention of anemia. Dietary diversity and sufficient energy intake were substantially correlated with enhanced anemia status. Furthermore, moderate to strenuous physical activity correlated favorably with hemoglobin and ferritin concentrations. Excessive body fat may impede iron absorption. Overall, sufficient dietary consumption and consistent physical exercise seem complementary to preventing anemia. This is important as an effort to prevent disease throughout the life span because anemia that persists into adulthood hurts pregnancy, childbirth, and the health outcomes of the newborn. However, we have not identified a certain frequency and duration of activity that affects anemia. Consequently, additional investigation is required regarding this matter.