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Uptake of Essential Nutrients
Uptake of essential nutrients is determined by a number of factors that include, the consumption of nutrient-rich food, the preparation of the food, and the type of diet of the person consumes. This will affect the bioavailability of macronutrients and micronutrients. In populations that are deficient in essential nutrients, blood tests have been used to examine the levels of iron and other micronutrients. A researcher may use these tests to examine whether there has been an improvement in the nutritional status of the individual. One of the most common assays is a test for iron, where iron levels are examined across the population during the intervention.
How to operationalize the metric
Method of data collection and data needed to compute the method:
The use of blood tests requires the presence of a trained health worker. The sample of persons to be tested for this measure will be developed further with consultations of health workers, nutritionists, and statistician.
Unit of analysis:
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Limitations regarding estimating and interpreting:
This metric is may be costly and will require some stringent efforts to gain approval from the institutional review boards (IRBs) and permission from the respective countries or agencies to allow this intrusive tests. This may be costly time wise and so should be accounted for during the planning phase. This procedure may be effective for large sample where there is potential to observe consumption and employ tests to see changes in micronutrient bioavailability.