The Effect of Iron Therapy on the Exercise Capacity of Nonanemic Iron-Deficient Adolescent Runners

Effects of iron supplement and exercise intensities on the levels of blood hemoglobin among Jimma University male soccer players

“…However, it is possible that some of the athletes were slightly anemic at study entry and that the positive effects noted in these studies (9,10,19) were simply caused by the normalization of hemoglobin concentrations.…”

“…The improvement of iron status due to iron supplementation has been accompanied by an improvement in endurance capacity (5,19). However, in Bruce incremental treadmill test no improvements have been observed in moderate intensity group.…”

“…Several studies have examined the effect of iron supplementation on iron stores and on parameters characterizing changes in aerobic capacity or physical fitness (2,4,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)14,16,18,19). As far as individuals with iron deficiency anemia are concerned, there is no question as to the benefit of iron-containing medications, because even mild anemia decreases the capacity for performance of physical exercise substantially (6,20).…”

“…Using the approximation that a 1g/L increase in serum ferritin is equivalent to 8 mg of storage iron (23), iron supplementation added a mean of between 88 to 240 mg of iron to body stores (2,4,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(13)(14)(15)(16)18,19).…”

“…Some investigators also identified objective signs of improved fitness such as increased VO2max (9,10), longer endurance time to exhaustion (9,19), and decreased blood lactate levels (9) and subjective parameters, for example increased training motivation (13,18). However, it is possible that some of the athletes were slightly anemic at study entry and that the positive effects noted in these studies (9,10,19) were simply caused by the normalization of hemoglobin concentrations.…”