Dietary choline affects strength gains in elderly people Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • BackgroundCholine is a precursor to acetylcholine, which transmits neural signals to skeletal muscle. Thus, dietary choline may affect muscle contraction and exercise performance by mediating availability of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. We examined the effects of choline consumption on muscle responses to resistance exercise training (RET) in the elderly.MethodsTwo groups of healthy untrained 5069 year old men and women underwent 12 weeks of RET (3x/week, 3 sets, 812 reps, 70% of 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM)). Each group consumed <350 mg/day (Low, mean=210.120 mg/d, n=17) or >350 mg/day (Adequate, mean=461.719 mg/d, n=19) of dietary choline during the study period. Body composition and maximum strength were measured before and after training.ResultsSignificant differences in strength (leg press 1RM + chest press 1RM) gains were observed between the groups (Low: 49.312kg vs. Adequate: 88.811kg, p<0.05/Low: 22.87% vs. Adequate: 46.87%, p<0.05) with ANCOVA analysis (covariate: gender) which was consistent with regression analysis (=0.376, r2= 0.187, p<0.01). There was no difference in lean mass gain between the groups (Low: 1.490.3kg vs. Adequate: 1.920.3kg, p>0.05).ConclusionThese results suggest that variability of dietary choline intake may affect strength gains in elderly people possibly through its effect on neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) availability.

published proceedings

  • FASEB JOURNAL

author list (cited authors)

  • Lee, C. W., Lee, T. V., Chen, V., Bui, S., & Riechman, S. E.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Lee, Chang Woock||Lee, Teak V||Chen, Vincent CW||Bui, Steve||Riechman, Steven E

publication date

  • April 2010

publisher