Abstract
Fasting blood samples from 11 women distance runners, 12 sprinters, and 11 moderately
active women were examined to determine iron status. Dietary iron intake and bioavailability
were analyzed from 3-day food diaries. Both distance runners and sprinters had lower
hematocrits and haptoglobins than moderately active women. Distance runners had significantly
lower ferritin (15.8 µg/l) than sprinters (32.8 µg/l), but moderately active women's
ferritin (26.1 µg/l) was not significantly different than in the other groups. Five
distance runners, two sprinters, and one moderately active woman had ferritins below
12 µg/l, which suggests iron depletion. Differences in hemoglobin, plasma iron, transferrin,
and food iron intake were not significant among the three groups. Absorbable iron
and heme iron intake were significantly lower for the distance runners and control
women than the sprinters. The results suggest that low ferritin is more common among
women who train for distance events than for sprints. This difference may by due to
differences in bioavailability of food iron intake.
Key words
iron status - haptoglobin - iron bioavailability
