Body Composition In Relation To Menstrual Status In Olympic Athletes In Power, Endurance And Technical Disciplines

Abstract

Menstrual disturbances in athletes may be related to body composition and particularly low amount of body fat. In turn, long-standing amenorrhea will lead to an increased bone resorption. Although this serious condition has been extensively characterized in athletes in disciplines that emphasize leanness, little is known about body composition in relation to menstrual status in athletes of other disciplines. PURPOSE: To determine body composition in relation to menstrual status in Olympic athletes in power, endurance, and technical disciplines. METHODS: Ninety female athletes, all members of the Swedish Olympic troops, underwent a general and gynaecological health assessment and a Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for determination of body composition. Groups of athletes within power (e.g. downhill skiing, taekwando), endurance (e.g. cross-country skiing, cycling) and technical disciplines (e.g. curling, archery) were compared. RESULTS: Endurance athletes had the lowest mean BMI and body fat content (19.1 ± 5.6% versus power: 21.7 ± 5.2%, p<0.05 and technical: 25.1 ± 6.8%, p<0.01). Power athletes had the highest total bone mineral density (BMD) compared to endurance and technical athletes (p<0.001, respectively). Menstrual disturbance was most common among endurance athletes (77.8% of those not taking hormonal contraceptives), compared to 13.3% in power sports (p<0.001) and 33.3% in technical disciplines (p=0.06). Athletes with menstrual disturbance had the lowest amount of body fat and significantly lower total BMD than regularly menstruating subjects and lower spinal BMD than athletes taking hormonal contraceptives. However, only one woman with menstrual disturbance had osteopenia. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, Olympic female athletes in endurance disciplines had lower amount of body fat, higher frequency of menstrual disturbances and lower BMD than athletes in power and technical disciplines. Women with menstrual disturbances had the lowest amount of body fat and BMD. However, their values were, for all but one woman having osteopenia, in the normal range, which may reflect an increasing awareness of the importance of healthy training and nutritional habits, or the selection of athletes with optimal physique at this level.