Increasing calcium (Ca) intake is important for female athletes with a risk of weak bone caused by inadequate food intake. The aim of the present study was to examine the preventive effect of Ca supplementation on low bone strength in young female athletes with inadequate food intake, using the rats as an experimental model. Seven-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: the sedentary and ad libitum feeding group (SED), voluntary running exercise and ad libitum feeding group (EX), voluntary running exercise and 30% food restriction group (EX-FR), and a voluntary running exercise, 30% food-restricted and high-Ca diet group (EX-FR+Ca). To Ca supplementation, we used 1.2% Ca diet as "high-Ca diet" that contains two-fold Ca of normal Ca diet. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks. As a result, the energy availability, internal organ weight, bone strength, bone mineral density, and Ca absorption in the EX-FR group were significantly lower than those in the EX group. The bone strength and Ca absorption in the EX-FR+Ca group were significantly higher than those in the EX-FR group. However, the bone strength in the EX-FR+Ca group did not reach that in the EX group. These results suggested that Ca supplementation had a positive effect on bone strength, but the effect was not sufficient to prevent lower bone strength caused by food restriction in young female athletes.
Keywords: Bone strength; Growing rat; High-Ca diet; Inadequate food intake; Young female athlete.