Abstract
Women suffer from thyroid disorders between four and ten times as frequently as men of the same age. This has been shown to be due to iodine deficiency causing damage to the thyroid during pregnancy and is not true of women who have never been pregnant. Iodine deficiency not only damages women but causes impairment of brain development in their babies. These are the main reasons for the recent increase in the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for an iodine intake to 200 mcg/day during pregnancy. Many British women have iodine intakes much below this recommendation and indeed below 100 mcg/day. The WHO was, however, informed by the British government that the population at risk of iodine deficiency in the UK was 'zero'. The WHO recommendations for action are discussed.