Relationship Between Dietary Calcium Intake And Muscle Performance In College Aged Adults

Abstract

It has been well established that several minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron play an important role in muscle metabolism, muscle function, and physical performance. Although the importance of calcium has been well studied in bone metabolism, there is still a wide research gap in understanding the relationship between calcium intake and muscle performance, especially in young adults. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary calcium intake and muscle performance in college-aged students. METHODS: This was a non-randomized cross-sectional study participated by 70 college-aged students. The dietary calcium intake questionnaire was used to estimate the amount of calcium consumed daily based on the content of the specific foods and was derived from a validated and quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The participant’s lower and upper body strength was assessed by a vertical jump test (Just Jump Mat, Tendo Sports Machine), and handgrip test (Takei, Japan), respectively. RESULTS: The average calcium intake was found to be 1098 mg/day. A statistically significant positive relationship was observed between jump velocity (r= 0.31; p<0.01), and relative power (r=0.35; p<0.01) with calcium intake. However, there were no significant relationships between calcium intake with jump height, time in air, and upper body muscular strength (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although the result suggests calcium intake was related to lower body muscle performance, in future experimental study should explore and control confounding variables to understand role of calcium intake on muscle performance in larger samples and in different sports.Table 1: Participant’s physical and muscle performance characteristics (n=70)