IRON SUPPLEMENTATION BENEFITS PHYSICAL

PERFORMANCE IN FEMALE ATHLETES

 ◦ Women of reproductive age are at a high risk of
iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia due to
menstrual blood loss
◦ Female athletes in particular are at risk for iron
deficiency because of…
◦ Low iron intake in the diet
◦ Breakdown of red blood cells in foot strike
hemolysis

Background ◦ GI bleeding after severe endurance exercise

◦ Reduced iron absorption after exercise
◦ Iron is essential for physical activity because it’s
used in the blood to carry oxygen around the
body, delivering it to the muscles
◦ When iron is low in the diet…
◦ Performance will change towards a negative
direction
◦ Premature fatigue will set in
 Purpose of the Study

Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient
deficiency in the world, so clinicians and
policymakers are looking for strategies and
intervention techniques to treat this, especially
for those most at risk
Overall Purpose: To evaluate the effects of daily iron
supplementation on the physical performance in women
of reproductive age
 ◦ A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis : researchers
looked at many carefully designed healthcare studies
◦ Looked for studies that performed randomized
controlled trials that measured the exercise outcomes
of females who were using daily iron supplements vs.
a control group of females who weren’t taking iron
supplements
Summary of ◦ Extracted data from 22 studies

the Study ◦ Considered…

◦ Max Exercise Performance Measures
◦ VO2 Max
◦ Max Heart Rate
◦ Submaximal Exercise Performance Measures
◦ % VO2 Max needed to complete submax
exercise load
 Daily iron supplementation in women of
reproductive age improves both maximal and
submaximal exercise performance
Reduction of
Improvement
Improved Reduction of % VO2 Max
of a 2 mile
VO2 Max heart rate needed for an
run time
exercise

Results

Women who showed the biggest increase in

performance – iron deficient and trained women
 Study heterogeneity – not all of the studies
reviewed were done in the same exact ways

Only 3 of the studies were considered to

Limitations be at a low overall risk of bias because
most didn’t report randomization or
allocation concealment in their manuscript

The average number of Estimates

participants used in each suggest that
studies should
of the studies was only 41 include at least
participants 142 participants
Word of Caution
◦ Most of the women studied in these trials were iron-deficient, had iron-deficiency anemia, or had poor
overall iron intake
◦ Iron can be very toxic, so it shouldn’t be taken as a supplement unless recommended by a doctor or a
dietitian
◦ Tolerable upper limit for adults is 45 mg/day
I plan to become a registered
dietitian after graduation,
specializing in Sports Nutrition

Many female athletes suffer from Application

iron deficiency unknowingly, or
find it difficult to get an adequate to my Future
amount of iron in their diets
Career
There is a need for education on
how to increase iron intake and
maximize iron absoprtion
Discussion Question
◦ Do you think that female athletes are aware of their risk of iron deficiency? If so, how do you think this
weighs in comparison to their other personal nutrition concerns like eating too much…too little…enough
protein…etc.?
◦ If female athletes knew of the performance benefits that iron can give them, do you think they would be
more likely to eat a diet richer in iron? Or would they be more likely to take supplements?
 Works Cited

◦ Pasricha, S., Low, M., Thompson, J., Farrell, A., & De-Regil, L. (2014). Iron
Supplementation Benefits Physical Performance in Women of Reproductive Age: A
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Journal of Nutrition, 144 (6), 906-914.