Body Composition, Energy Intake and Expenditure, and Body Weight Dissatisfaction in Female Child Gymnasts and Controls

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine if percent body fat, energy intake and expenditure, and body weight dissatisfaction differ between age-, height-, and weight-matched female child gymnasts and controls. Among female college gymnasts, a significant number report dissatisfaction with current body weight. It is unclear, however, if female child gymnasts (GYM) differ from appropriately matched nongymnasts or controls (CON) on body weight dissatisfaction. The aim of this study was to compare female child GYM (n = 16, age = 10.5 ± 0.4 y, ht = 138.3 ± 2.4 cm, wt = 32.5 ± 1.4 kg, x̄ ± SEM) to age-, height-, and weight-matched nongymnast controls CON (n = 16, age = 10.5 ± 0.3 y, ht = 140.9 ± 2.8 cm, wt = 32.4 ± 1.6 kg) on body composition, energy intake and expenditure, and body weight dissatisfaction. Body weight was measured with a double-beam balance scale, and body fat percentage was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (QDR-1000W, Hologic, Inc., Waltham, MA). Energy intake and expenditure were measured from 3-day dietary records and the 7-day physical activity recall, respectively. Dissatisfaction with body weight was determined by the discrepancy between self-reported desired body weight from actual weight. Paired t-tests revealed that energy expenditure was significantly higher in GYM compared to CON (1,612 ± 101 vs. 1,215 ± 73 kcal d −1; p < 0.01, size of effect [Cohen's d] = 1.12 SD); energy intake exceeded expenditure for both groups but did not differ between groups (2,100 ± 80 vs. 2,054 ± 107 kcal d −1, respectively). Although both groups were lean for their age, the GYM exhibited significantly (p < 0.001, d = 1.51) lower percent body fat than the CON (14.9 ± 0.7 vs. 21.3 ± 1.3%, respectively). Despite their leanness and young age, all the participants were not satisfied with their body weight. Twice as many GYM (n = 4) as CON (n = 2) expressed a desired weight that was lower than their actual weight, and the magnitude of the difference, in desired lower body weight, between GYM and CON was moderate (5.3 ± 2.9 vs. 2.7 ± 2.4 kg, d = 0.54). Importantly, those GYM desiring a lower body weight were shorter (134.5 ± 6.3 cm, d = 0.54) and had a higher percent body fat (15.9 ± 1.8%, d = 0.47) than the GYM who were happy with their body weight or wanted to weigh more (n = 12, 139.6 ± 2.5 cm; 14.6 ± 0.7%). It is concluded that some female child gymnasts are dissatisfied with their body weight despite being characterized by extreme leanness. (Funded, in part, by the 1996 SCAN Practice Group Research Grant.)