Do Kiwi men who sweat a lot suffer from iodine deficiency? That is the question researchers from Massey University’s School of Food and Nutrition want to answer as they kick off a new study investigating the iodine levels of very active men compared to non-active men. And they are calling on Manawatū men to help them.

Iodine deficiency in New Zealand re-emerged in the 1990s, so in 2009 the government introduced mandatory fortification of bread with iodised salt. The Iodine Global Network, an international body assessing iodine status throughout the world, now defines New Zealand as free of iodine deficiency.

However, Dr Louise Brough of the School of Food and Nutrition at Massey’s College of Health and other New Zealand researchers recently argued in the British Journal of Nutrition that some population groups here are still at risk of deficiency. A Massey University study published last year found pregnant and breastfeeding women in Manawatū were still not getting enough iodine.

Dr Jasmine Thomson, who specialises in human nutrition, says very active men who sweat a lot, such as cyclists exercising for hours at a time, might be at risk of iodine deficiency. “Sweat is one of the ways iodine is excreted from the body therefore men who exercise a lot will be losing a high amount of iodine. Also active men are often health conscious and may be cutting down on salt or reducing their bread intake and hence their iodine intake could be low.”