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Nutritional intake as a determinant of high-speed resistance and multicomponent training efficacy on strength in older women at risk of sarcopenia. A randomized clinical trial

Luis Polo-Ferrero, J. Recio-Rodríguez, Susana González-Manzano, J. Martín-Vallejo, F. Barbero-Iglesias, B. Montero-Errasquín, A. Cruz-Jentoft, Roberto Méndez-Sánchez

Clinical Nutrition, 2025

80 participants · 8 citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Despite advances in research on training and nutritional supplementation, it is largely unknown how micronutrient intake modulates the response to training in older adults. This study investigates the relationship between nutrient intake and response to training in older women at risk of sarcopenia.

METHODS

A randomized clinical trial with two parallel groups (high-speed resistance training (H-RT) and multicomponent training (MT)) was conducted over a 32-week intervention involving 80 older women at risk of sarcopenia (mean age: 77.36 ± 6.71 years). A food frequency questionnaire was administered to assess whether nutrient intake influenced strength outcomes measured by the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test (5STS) and other functional variables.

RESULTS

Significant improvements in the five times sit to stand test (5STS) were observed in both groups post-intervention (p < 0.001), with no significant differences between them (p = 0.127), suggesting comparable effectiveness. In both groups, lower levels of vitamin B12 (H-RT: rp = -0.52; MT: rp = -0.50) and vitamin D (H-RT: rp = -0.55; MT: rp = -0.69) were associated with worse 5STS performance. Additionally, in the H-RT group, lower levels of vitamin E (rp = -0.36), magnesium (rp = -0.48), iron (rp = -0.43), and potassium (rp = -0.47) were also correlated with poorer performance.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that improvements in strength are related to micronutrient sufficiency rather than macronutrient…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 80 participants or records.

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