Acute Caffeine Supplementation Does Not Change Sweat Rate and Blood Pressure in Ballet Dancers: A Double-Blind and Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the effect of oral caffeine supplementation on sweat rate and blood pressure in ballet dancers. A double-blind study with placebo control was conducted with nine professional ballet dancers (average age: 28.5 ± 8.8 years). Oral caffeine supplementation (400 mg per dancer, 6.3 mg/kg, range: 4.9 to 8.6 mg/kg) was ingested one hour before a ballet session that was 5 hours in length. After 3 days a second 5-hour session was performed prior to which a placebo was given to the participants. Body weight, sweat rate, and blood pressure were measured before and after each session. Student's t-tests and ANOVAs were used to assess statistical differences. Results were considered significant at p < 0.05. It was found that acute caffeine supplementation did not change any of the variables when compared to placebo.