OMAHA, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Calcium and vitamin D supplementation can significantly reduce stress fractures in female military recruits, according to a U.S. study.
The randomized, double-blind study looked at 5,201 female U.S. Navy recruits during eight weeks of basic training from 2002 to 2006 at Great Lakes Naval Station near Chicago.
The women, ages 17 to 35, were divided into two groups, with one group receiving daily pill supplements of 2,000 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D, and the other group receiving placebo pills. Calcium supports bone formation and repair, while vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.
During the study, 170 recruits in the placebo group experienced stress fractures, about 25 percent more than in the group taking the calcium/vitamin D supplements.
"What really surprised us is that calcium/vitamin D supplements made a significant difference in such a short period of time," said principal investigator Joan Lappe of Creighton University. "Frankly, we were not sure we would see any statistically significant results in only eight weeks."
The findings were presented at the 53rd annual Orthopaedic Research Society meeting at the San Diego Convention Center.
