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Nutrition Science Fair Project

Iron Supplements and Running Endurance

Hard
Iron Supplements and Running Endurance | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Does taking an iron supplement help iron-deficient runners get faster? Iron carries oxygen in the blood. When iron levels drop, muscles may tire more quickly during long runs. In this project you recruit 20 women aged 20 to 25 who have confirmed iron deficiencies. All of them run 5 km on a treadmill and you record their times. Then you split them into two matched groups. One group takes a 100 mg iron tablet daily for two weeks. The other takes a placebo (a look-alike pill with no active ingredient). After two weeks both groups run the 5 km again. You compare the average times before and after to see whether the iron group improved more than the placebo group.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that women athletes with iron deficiencies can better their performance with iron supplements.

Method & Materials

You will select 20 women between the ages of 20 and 25 who have iron deficiencies, divide them into two groups, and have them run 5 km on a treadmill. One group will take iron supplements while the other group will take a placebo.
You will need a doctor to help test the participants for iron deficiency, a treadmill, a stopwatch, 140 tablets of iron supplements, and 140 tablets of placebo.

Results

The results showed that the women in the group taking iron supplements were able to better their time taken to complete the 5 km run on the treadmill. The women in the group taking the placebo did not show any improvement in their performance.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it tests the effects of iron supplements on female athletes with iron deficiencies. It is unique because it looks at how iron deficiency can affect the performance of athletes.

Also Consider

Variations of this science project could include testing women with normal iron levels or testing male athletes.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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