Adolescent girls may be able to increase their power by ensuring that they receive adequate levels of vitamin D, according to a very recent British study. The study is the latest among a recent plethora of clinical trials either emphasizing the importance of this hormonal vitamin, or highly recommending a significant revision upward in its respective recommended daily intake. This particular study falls under the auspices of the former, and the power it refers to is the explosive physical power generated by the muscles – in this case of young girls between the ages of 12 and 14.
The scientists in this trial recruited 99 young girls (from diverse ethnic backgrounds) from an inner-city school in Manchester. The plasma levels of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D – or 25(OH)D – ranged from 2.5 to 88.5 nmol/L, and 75% of the girls had low 25(OH)D levels. The physical test marker used by the scientists to measure explosive muscle power was a technique called jumping mechanography, which measures power and force based on a test subject’s performance in a series of jumping activities. The scientists reported that the girls with no vitamin D deficiency ‘significantly’ outperformed their vitamin D-deficient counterparts in the jumping test. In addition to highlighting the importance of vitamin D to muscle function, the researchers also stressed that ‘sub-optimal [muscle] force might have implications for long-term bone development’, re-emphasizing vitamin D’s traditional importance.
The significance of vitamin D (and of course it’s active hormone 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D) to muscle function is itself not new. This connection has been long established and has even been clinically applied (albeit to a limited extent) to the study of preventing sarcopenia – age associated muscle wasting – among the elderly. This particular trial is unique in that the vitamin D/muscle function connection is made with such young test subjects.
K.A. Ward, G. Das, J.L. Berry, S.A. Roberts, R. Rawer, J.E. Adams, Z. Mughal. “Vitamin D Status and Muscle Function in Post-Menarchal Adolescent Girls.” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 2009 Feb;94(2):559-63.
For more information see Vitamin D3
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