The Effect of Oral Iron Supplements on Insulin and Glucose Metabolism in Overweight and Obese Women

The study will be a randomized, double-blind, 17-day metabolic intervention trial including 14 days of high-dose or low-dose iron supplementation. A total of 70 overweight or obese (OW/OB) women will be enrolled. Participants will be individually randomized into either the high-iron or low-iron group. Women in the low-iron group will receive 15 mg of iron as ferrous fumarate daily for 14 days, while women in the high-iron group will receive 195 mg of iron as ferrous sulfate daily for 14 days. The study consists of three visits in total. On Day 0, a fasting blood sample will be collected and an OGTT will be performed, with additional blood samples collected at 1 hour and 2 hours post-OGTT. The OGTT will be repeated on Day 14, after 14 days of oral iron supplementation, and again on Day 17, four days after oral iron supplementation has been stopped