Status of bone mineral content and body composition in boys engaged in intensive physical activity

Abstract

Background/Aim. It is well known that physical activity has an anabolic effect on bone tissue. But there is a lack of information about the effect of intensive physical activity in childhood, particularly at the prepubertal stage. To examine the influence of training on body composition and bone mineral density we have studied a group of prepubertal soccer players as well as a group of inactive prepubertal boys at the starting phase of their peak bone mass acquisition. Methods. A total of 62 healthy prepubertal boys took part in this study. They were divided into two groups. The first one consisted of 32 soccer players (aged 10.7 ? 0.5 years), who had been playing football for at least 1 year (10-15 h per week). The second group a control group 30 boys (aged 11.2 ? 0.7 years) doing 1.5 h per week physical activity at school. Body composition was assessed by a Body Fat Analyzer 'BES 200 Z'. Bone mineral density measurements of the left and the right calcaneus were done by using ultrasound densitometer 'Sahara' (Hologic, Inc., MA, USA). Results. There were significant differences between soccer players and the control group in fat mass (p = 0.01). Besides, a significant difference was determined between the group of athletes and the control group in bone mineral density of both calcaneal bones (p = 0.01). Conclusion. The results of this study confirm the significant effects of physical activity on reducing body mass and increasing bone density. Considering that football training can be very easily implemented in the broader population of children and young people, which does not apply to many other sports, it should be used more in the prevention of obesity and osteoporosis.Uvod/Cilj. Fizicka aktivnost ima anabolicko dejstvo na kostano tkivo. Medjutim, jos uvek nije potpuno jasno kakav je uticaj intenzivne fizicke aktivnosti tokom detinjstva, a posebno u prepubertetskom uzrastu. U cilju utvrdjivanja uticaja vezbanja na telesnu gradju i gustinu kosti kod dece koja se aktivno bave sportom, ispitali smo grupu decaka prepubertetskog uzrasta koji treniraju fudbal, kao i grupu decaka prepubertetskog uzrasta koji se ne bave sportom aktivno u pocetnoj fazi dostizanja maksimalne mase kosti. Metode. Uzorak ispitanika sastojao se od 62 decaka prepubertetskog uzrasta, podeljenih u dve grupe: grupu od 32 decaka, uzrasta 10,7 ? 0,5 godina, koji aktivno treniraju fudbal najmanje godinu dana (10-15 sati nedeljno) i kontrolnu grupu od 30 decaka, uzrasta 11,2 ? 0,7 godina, koji se ne bave aktivno sportom, osim fizicke aktivnosti tokom redovne nastave u skoli u trajanju od 1,5 sat nedeljno. Telesna gradja procenjena je primenom uredjaja Body Fat Analyser BES 200 Z, dok je gustina leve i desne petne kosti procenjena pomocu ultrazvucnog denzitometra Sahara (Hologic, Inc, MA, USA). Rezultati. Dobijeni rezultati pokazali su da postoji statisticki znacajna razlika izmedju decaka koji aktivno treniraju fudbal i kontrolne grupe u kolicini masnog tkiva (p = 0,01), kao i gustini obe petne kosti (p = 0,01). Zakljucak. Rezultati ovog istrazivanja potvrdjuju znacajne efekte fizicke aktivnosti na smanjenje telesne mase i povecanje gustine kostiju. S obzirom na to da je veoma lako ostvariti vezbanje fudbala u siroj populaciji dece i mladih, sto ne vazi za mnoge druge sportove, treba ga sto vise koristiti u prevenciji gojaznosti i osteoporoze.