MANCHESTER, England, Feb 5, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Teenage girls with higher
vitamin D levels may be able to jump higher and faster than their peers with
lower levels, British researchers found.
Lead author Kate Ward of the University of Manchester said that not only does
vitamin D work with calcium to keep bones strong, but researchers now believe
teenage girls with higher levels of the vitamin may be able to jump higher and
faster than girls with lower levels.
The researchers collected vitamin D levels for 99 girls, ages 12-14. To test the
girls' muscle function, the girls were instructed to jump as high as possible
while researchers used a device designed to measure power and performance called
jumping mechanography.
The study, published in the the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism, found that after controlling for differences in the girls' body
weight, the girls with the highest vitamin D levels had the highest jump speeds,
jump height, power and force.
The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
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