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Relationship Between Calcium in Sweat, Calcium Balance, and Calcium Requirements

U. S. Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory, Fitzsimons General Hospital, Denver, Colorado

These data suggest that calcium may be lost during heavy sweating conditions (up to 20 mg calcium/hour) and that this loss should be considered in establishing recommended allowances for calcium.

It was observed that 7 men consuming 441 mg of calcium a day in a study extending for 48 days, excreted 8.1, 11.6 and 20.2 mg/hour of calcium when living at 70, 85 and 100°F. This accounted for 21.8, 25.1 and 33.2% of the total calcium excreted.

These observations are important since they show an additional calcium loss, which has not been reported in previous calcium balance studies in the literature. It is questionable whether an individual, consuming a low calcium diet, ever really attains calcium balance (equilibrium), under heavy sweating conditions.

It was observed that (a) the calcium excreted in sweat, in men working at a moderate rate in extreme heat (100°F), was still fairly high after acclimatization, averaging 17 mg/hour after the first 4 days, and (b) that the daily total calcium in sweat increased as the sweat rate increased. Therefore it appears that the calcium requirements may be increased under these conditions.

It was shown that even after acclimatization the urinary calcium did not decrease in compensation for the losses of calcium in sweat. It is recognized that changes in the urinary excretion of calcium in adjusting to different levels of dietary calcium and the various other metabolic factors, may require months to achieve.