C. F. Sanborn

Athletic amenorrhea: lack of association with body fat.

The most commonly tested hypothetical cause of athletic amenorrhea has been low body fat. Test results have conflicted because of mixed groups of athletes and methodologic problems. In this study, we measured body fat only in distance runners (greater than 53 km X wk-1) of the same somatotype who clearly had regular menses or secondary amenorrhea; this permitted more valid group comparison of body fat using hydrostatic weighing. The regularly menstruating group (N = 7) had 12 periods X yr-1 at intervals of 26.5 +/- 1.0 (SE) days with a duration of 4.1 +/- 0.4 days. In the athletic amenorrhea group (N = 7), menstrual periods had been absent for 1 to 10 yr (average = 3.9 +/- 1.3 yr); they were gynecologically evaluated to restrict the group to those with athletic amenorrhea. The groups were similar in a number of categories: weight, height, age, menarcheal age, weekly training mileage, days/week training, years of training, and maximum oxygen uptake. Percent body fat for the two groups was the same: 17.7 +/- 2.1% for the amenorrheic athletes and 17.4 +/- 1.2% for the regularly menstruating athletes (P = 0.91). These data do not support the idea that low body fat per se causes athletic amenorrhea.

Bone density and young athletic women : An update

High-school girls and collegiate women have tremendous opportunities to participate in athletic teams. Young girls are also playing in club and select teams at an early age and often, year-round. There are many benefits for participating in sport and physical activity on both the physical and mental health of girls and women. Decreased risk for heart disease and diabetes mellitus, along with improved self-esteem and body-image, were among the first reported benefits of regular physical activity. In addition, sport participation and physical activity is also associated with bone health. Athletes have a greater bone mineral density compared with non-active and physically active females. The increase in bone mass should reduce the risk of fragility fractures in later life. There appears to be a window of opportunity during the development of peak bone mass in which the bone is especially responsive to weight-bearing physical activity. Impact loading sports such as gymnastics, rugby or volleyball tend to produce a better overall osteogenic response than sports without impact loading such as cycling, rowing and swimming. Relatively little is known about the impact of retiring from athletics on bone density. It appears that former athletes continue to have a higher bone density than non-athletes; however, the rate of bone loss appears to be similar in the femoral neck. The positive impact of sports participation on bone mass can be tempered by nutritional and hormonal status. It is not known whether female athletes need additional calcium compared with the general female population. Due to the increased energy expenditure of exercise and/or the pressure to obtain an optimal training bodyweight, some female athletes may develop low energy availability or an eating disorder and subsequently amenorrhoea and a loss of bone mineral density. The three inter-related clinical disorders are referred to as the ‘female athlete triad’. This article presents a review of the relationship between sports training and bone health, specifically bone mineral density, in young athletic women.

Predictors of Body Size Stigmatization in Hispanic Preschool Children

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to verify the occurrence of body size stigmatization in Hispanic preschoolers who are “at risk” for obesity and to examine potential predictors of body size stigmatization.

Impact of Detraining on Bone Loss in Former Collegiate Female Gymnasts

Undesirable changes in health-related parameters are thought to occur in retiring female athletes, but this has not been examined in longitudinal studies. The purpose of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in bone mineral density (BMD), body composition, and dietary intake in gymnasts and controls. Nonathletic, college-age women (n = 9) were selected as a control group for comparison to the gymnasts (n = 10). Initial BMDs for the gymnasts were determined by using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar, DPX) at the beginning of their final competitive year. Initial BMDs for the controls were measured during a similar time-frame. Follow-up measurements were made at least 1-year after the initial measurement. Gymnasts had significantly greater BMD of the femoral neck (1.262 versus 1.058 g/cm2, respectively), Ward’s triangle (1.230 versus 1.008 g/cm2), greater trochanter (1002 versus 0.822 g/cm2), and total body (1.232 versus 1.145 g/cm2) than controls while still competing (P < .05). Following retirement from competition, (mean years of retirement, 4 years), BMD of the gymnasts remained significantly greater than controls at total body, femoral neck, trochanter, and Ward’s triangle (P < .05). Significant declines in femoral neck, Ward’s triangle, and greater trochanter BMD were found in both gymnasts and controls (0.72% to 1.9% per year), but only gymnasts had a significant decline at the lumbar spine (0.87% per year). In conclusion, BMD changes in former gymnasts appear to be site-specific, and gymnasts continue to have greater proximal femur BMD than controls, despite their decreased exercise, which may help postpone or prevent osteoporosis later in life.

Relationship of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis to bone mineral density in women

SummaryThe relationship between spinal curvature and bone mineral density (BMD) in women was examined. Significant relationships were observed between spinal curvature and BMD in both pre- and postmenopausal women. Excessive spinal curvature may be associated with low bone mass in premenopausal women.IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to examine the associations between spinal measurements of thoracic and lumbar curvatures and bone mineral density in pre- and postmenopausal women.MethodsThe data for this study were obtained from the Texas Woman’s University Pioneer Project. Female participants (nu2009=u2009242; premenopausal nu2009=u2009104, postmenopausal nu2009=u2009138) between the ages of 18 and 60xa0years were evaluated on multiple health measures. Thoracic and lumbar curvatures were measured with a 24-in. (60xa0cm) flexicurve. Bone mineral density was assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Lunar DPX IQ, version 4.6e). Pearson correlations and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the associations between the obtained spinal curvature measurements and bone mineral density. Significance was set at pu2009<u2009.05.ResultsSignificant correlations were observed for the femoral neck and lumbar spine bone mineral density with thoracic and lumbar curve in premenopausal women (ru2009=u2009−.344 tou2009−u2009.525; pu2009<u2009.001). Slightly weaker, but significant, correlations were observed for femoral neck and lumbar spine in relation to thoracic and lumbar curve in postmenopausal women (ru2009=u2009−.288 to −.397; pu2009<u2009.01). Premenopausal women with thoracic curvature greater than 4xa0cm had a greater risk of having low bone mass compared to premenopausal women with less than 4xa0cm of curvature (odds ratiou2009=u20093.982, 95xa0% CIu2009=u20091.206, 13.144).ConclusionsThe observed negative relationship suggests that as either thoracic or lumbar curvature increases, the regional bone mineral density decreases in both pre- and postmenopausal women.

Athletic Amenorrhea, Major Affective Disorders, and Eating Disorders

While studying amenorrheic runners, the authors became aware of psychiatric differences between them. Psychiatric interviews of 13 amenorrheic and 19 regularly menstruating runners revealed that of the amenorrheic runners, 11 reported major affective disorders in themselves or in first- and second-degree relatives and eight reported eating disorders in themselves. Among the regularly menstruating runners, however, there were no eating disorders or major affective disorders, and only one had first-degree relatives with major affective disorders. These data suggest a link between athletic amenorrhea in runners, major affective disorders, and eating disorders.