Intake of Iron Supplements Boosts Women’s Exercise Performance

Iron supplements are often recommended to treat fatigue in women. A new study adds to this association by stating iron supplements improve women's exercise performance.

Deficiency of iron in women of childbearing age leads to serious problems. They are taken to prevent anemia, but unfortunately the diet of majority of Americans, especially women, fail to meet the recommended iron requirements. Several researches have suggested the intake of daily iron supplements for women in order to receive a physical boost.

Adding to the evidence, researchers at the University of Melbourne found that women who take iron supplements experience a significant improvement in their exercise performance. For this study, the researchers conducted a systematic review and analysis of the effect of iron supplementation in exercise performance among women of child-bearing age.

Led by researcher Dr Sant-Rayn Pasricha from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the study found that intake of iron supplementation greatly enhanced women's performance in exercise in both highest exertion i.e. 100 percent exertion and their exercise efficiency at submaximal exertion.

The researchers seen that the women taking iron supplements were able to perform the assigned exercise with lower heart rate and higher efficiency.

"This was mainly seen in women who had been iron deficient or anemic at the beginning of the trial and in women who were specifically training, including in elite athletes," Dr Pasricha said. "The study collected data from many individual smaller studies which generally could not identify this beneficial effect on their own. However, when we merged the data using meta-analysis, we found this impressive benefit from iron."

This is the first time that the researchers confirmed the association between intake of iron supplements and the beneficial effects on exercise performance. Studies conducted earlier showed that women taking iron supplements experienced a significant improvement in work productivity.

"It may be worthwhile screening women, including women training as elite athletes, for iron deficiency, and ensuring they receive appropriate prevention and treatment strategies. Athletes, especially females, are at increased risk of iron deficiency potentially, due to their diets and inflammation caused by excessive exercise," said Dr Pasricha.

The finding was documented in the journal of Nutrition.