Iodine Global Network (IGN)
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Iodine bindis: Science or swindle?
Can you imagine an idea by a Singapore-based advertising agency and the research and development by an NGO in India to make a bindi coated with iodine that claims to be able to save countless Indian lives?
Though it has received a lot of publicity, doubts have been raised about the authenticity of the "Life Saving Dot" to try and solve the iodine deficiency problems among women in parts of rural India.
Where is the research to back the claim?
Though there hasn’t been any official follow up on this initiative yet, Pawar claims that the results have been overwhelming. As part of the research, the bindis were distributed to women in the specific regions for a period of time. "Even after the research got over, the women were very enthusiastic about the initiative and demanded more bindis," she says.
When we asked the NGO to disclose the results, they said that they weren’t ready to share it.
Dr. Chandrakant Pandav, professor and head of the Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences [and the Iodine Global Network Regional Coordinator], is sceptical about this project and says that there is no evidence of the iodised bindi being effective. He explains that randomised control trials, where one woman would get an iodised bindi and another would get a non-iodised bindi, need to be conducted for a follow up.
"The women are probably demanding more of the product for decorative purposes. Many countries have tried to introduce different ways to supply iodine as add ons like iodised bread in New Zealand, iodised toffee in Mexico and iodised fish sauce in East Asian countries. But, the most effective way of giving iodine to the body is through iodised salt or iodine oil capsules that can last for two years and iodine injections that remain effective for five years," he says.
Pandav also raises the question as to why should there be a need for investing resources on iodising a bindi when there is already a solution in the form of iodised salt present.
India is the third largest producer of salt and one of the first countries to start a public health programme to address iodine deficiency through salt iodisation. Yet, only 71% of Indian households consume iodised salt, according to UNICEF. The ill effects of iodine deficiency include hypothyroid, goitre and can even lead to children being born with mental retardation if the mother is deficient.
Though it has received a lot of publicity, doubts have been raised about the authenticity of the "Life Saving Dot" to try and solve the iodine deficiency problems among women in parts of rural India.
Where is the research to back the claim?
Though there hasn’t been any official follow up on this initiative yet, Pawar claims that the results have been overwhelming. As part of the research, the bindis were distributed to women in the specific regions for a period of time. "Even after the research got over, the women were very enthusiastic about the initiative and demanded more bindis," she says.
When we asked the NGO to disclose the results, they said that they weren’t ready to share it.
Dr. Chandrakant Pandav, professor and head of the Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences [and the Iodine Global Network Regional Coordinator], is sceptical about this project and says that there is no evidence of the iodised bindi being effective. He explains that randomised control trials, where one woman would get an iodised bindi and another would get a non-iodised bindi, need to be conducted for a follow up.
"The women are probably demanding more of the product for decorative purposes. Many countries have tried to introduce different ways to supply iodine as add ons like iodised bread in New Zealand, iodised toffee in Mexico and iodised fish sauce in East Asian countries. But, the most effective way of giving iodine to the body is through iodised salt or iodine oil capsules that can last for two years and iodine injections that remain effective for five years," he says.
Pandav also raises the question as to why should there be a need for investing resources on iodising a bindi when there is already a solution in the form of iodised salt present.
India is the third largest producer of salt and one of the first countries to start a public health programme to address iodine deficiency through salt iodisation. Yet, only 71% of Indian households consume iodised salt, according to UNICEF. The ill effects of iodine deficiency include hypothyroid, goitre and can even lead to children being born with mental retardation if the mother is deficient.
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