High-intensity exercise in female athletes : Effects on bone mass and body composition

We investigated bone mass and body composition in young healthy athletic women in order to determine the influence of high-impact physical activity on bone, fat and lean mass. In a case-control study, we studied 68 healthy women, aged 18-45 years, divided in two groups (age and body mass index matched): 39 sedentary women and 29 professional karate athletes. Family and medical histories and information on habits and dietary patterns were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Bone mineral density (BMD, g/cm2) of whole body, lumbar spine and proximal femur was measured by means of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Hologic QDR 4500A scanner; Hologic,Waltham, USA; version 8.26). Total and subregional fat and lean whole body masses were also measured (grams). Significantly higher femoral and total body bone masses were found in active women compared to sedentary women (total femur: 1.00±0.09 vs. 0.95±0.10 g/cm2, p<0.05; femoral neck: 0.94±0.11 vs. 0.87±0.11, p<0.05; trochanter: 0.77±0.10 vs. 0.70±0.08, p=0.002; intertrochanter: 1.17±0.09 vs. 1.11±0.12, p<0.05; total body: 1.19±0.06 vs. 1.14±0.08, p