Iodine deficiency still a problem
"There still is a real [iodine] deficiency in parts of Australia." Image: davidf/iStockphoto Iodine deficiency is still a problem in Australia today and about 30% of the world’s population remains at risk of the preventable condition that can cause everything from mild learning difficulties to sever retardation, cretinism and stillbirth.That is the message from Australian scientific statesman Dr Basil Hetzel more than 40 years after his seminal studies illuminated iodine’s essential role in brain development. In Papua New Guinea in the 1960s Dr Hetzel’s research team was the first to prove that brain damage could be prevented by correcting iodine deficiency before pregnancy; he went on to spearhead an international campaign working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF that has seen iodine supplementation programs jump from covering 20% of the world’s population before 1990 to around 70% today. Despite the progress that has been made – it’s estimated more than 80...