Role of Dietary Calcium Intake and Muscle Performance in Young Athletes.
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Sheryl Cruz
CoPIs:
Xiyan Ding, Rayna Smith
College:
The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology
Major:
Biology
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
Pragya Sharma Ghimire
Abstract:
Mineral and trace elements (MTEs) play indispensable roles in modern healthy diets among young athletes. MTEs participate in physiological processes correlated with sports performance including energy storage/utilization, protein metabolism, inflammation, oxygen transport, cardiac rhythms, bone metabolism, and immune function. Evidence supports that minerals are important in muscle metabolism, muscle function, and physical performance. Calcium is a key mineral involved in energy metabolism, bone health, muscle contraction, and other physiological processes in the human body. Calcium-rich foods are dairy products, cereals, nuts, and vegetables. Fortified foods such as cereals and juices can also become important calcium sources. Although the importance of calcium has been well studied in bone metabolism, there still needs to be a wide research gap in understanding the relationship between calcium intake and muscle performance, especially in young athletes. In this non-randomized cross-sectional design, three athlete groups were included: baseball (n=32), lacrosse (n=13), and soccer (n= 36), with age ranges from 18-30 years. Prior to the first visit to the Human Performance Laboratory for testing, participants were screened via a screening checklist. Participation in this study completed 2 visits of approximately 40 minutes (visit 1) and 60 minutes (visit 2) to the Human Performance Laboratory at D’Angola Gym. On their first visit to the laboratory, the participants signed the informed consent and completed the Health Status Questionnaire (HSQ), Bone-specific Physical Activity Questionnaire (BPAQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Calcium intake questionnaire, and Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). Information from these questionnaires were used to assess variables important for bone and muscle health (i.e., calcium intake and physical activity). The participants' aerobic fitness, body composition, muscle strength, and endurance were tested during the second visit. One-way ANOVA showed no significant differences in dietary calcium intake between the three groups (p>0.05). We also found that dietary calcium intake was significantly correlated to lower body muscle performance (r= 0.24; p= 0.01) and current bone loading physical activity scores (r= 0.27; p= 0.00). Although participants’ dietary calcium intake was found to be at the recommended level, the results suggest that calcium intake was related to lower body muscle performance. Future studies should investigate the relationship between calcium, vitamin D, exercise adaptation, and muscle performance among large sample sizes of both male and female athletes.