Iron-Rich Snack Intervention for Anemia in Adolescent Girls (IRSA-RCT)

August 27, 2026 updated by: Qaisar Raza, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore - Pakistan

Combating Anemia Through Iron Rich Snack Among Adolescent Girls: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of iron-rich snacks in combating anemia among adolescent girls. The study will involve 100 girls aged 16-18 years with mild anemia (Hb 11-11.9 g/dL), randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group will consume two 25-g iron-rich bars daily for 12 weeks, while the control group will continue their regular diet. Hemoglobin and anemia status will be assessed to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Data will be analyzed using SPSS, with p ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Arfa Nasir Rasheed, Mphil Food and Nutrition
  • Phone Number: +923097387787
  • Email: arfanasir549@gmail.com

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
        • University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
        • Contact:
          • University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore
          • Phone Number: +924299211374
          • Email: webmaster@uvas.edu.pk
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Arfa Nasir, Mphil Food and Nutrition

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescent girls aged 16-18 years
  • Have mild iron deficiency anemia (Hb=11-11.9g/dl)
  • Enrolled in selected colleges in Lahore
  • Willing to participate for 3 months
  • Available for baseline and post-intervention assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Moderate and severe iron deficiency anemia requiring medical treatment
  • Currently taking iron supplements
  • Allergy to ingredients in iron rich balls
  • Having chronic GIT disorders
  • Pregnant or lactating

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Intervention Arm
Participants will receive two 25g iron-rich balls daily for 12 weeks
Dietary supplement: Iron Rich Bars
The proposed iron-rich bar differs from previous interventions through its unique combination of locally available sesame seeds, roasted chickpeas, jaggery, and fenugreek, providing 2.9 mg iron per 25 g bar without pharmaceutical iron fortification. It is a low-cost, culturally acceptable, easy-to-prepare food-based intervention specifically designed for adolescent girls and combined with nutrition education.
No Intervention: Control arm
Participants will continue their regular diet for 12 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Hemoglobin Level (Hb)
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Change in hemoglobin concentration (g/dL) from baseline to the end of the intervention comparing the iron-rich snack group with the control group by using Sahli's hemoglobinometer.
12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anemia status
Time Frame: 12 weeks
Anemia status assessed by Hb concentration (g/dl) using Sahli's hemoglobinometer, according to WHO 2024 criteria, cutoff of <12.0g/dl for anemia in non pregnant females aged 15-65 years, mild anemia 11.0-11.9 g/dl, moderate anemia 8.0-10.9 g/dl, and severe anemia <8.0 g/dl.
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore - Pakistan

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dr. Qaisar Raza, Phd, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

August 28, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 28, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 27, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 453/IRC/BMR

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared with other researchers due to participant confidentially and privacy considerations. Only aggregated, de-identified study results will be reported and shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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