BONE MINERAL DENSITY, BODY COMPOSITION AND BLOOD PRESSURE IN YOUND AND MENOPAUSAL RUNNERS AND NON-RUNNERS

Abstract

The onset of menopause brings with it various changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and body fat (BF) distribution. Physical activity has been identified as a protective factor from many diseases, especially those that result in physical limitations. Weight bearing activities are recommended for osteoporosis prevention. However, it is unclear how chronic running affects the BF% and BMD in healthy menopausal (MEN) women. PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study was designed to assess the effects of chronic running on BMD and BF% in MEN women. The BMD and BF% was compared in young (YNG) and MEN women with and without a running (RUN; NOR) history. METHODS: We recruited 169 Women (57 YNG/NOR (34.1 9.9 yrs.), 34 MEN/NOR (55.4 10.4 yrs.), 51 YNG/RUN (40.0 8.7 yrs.), and 27 MEN/RUN (56.9 8.9 yrs.) and evaluated them for differences and relationships between BMD, blood pressure (BP) and BF%. RESULTS: Although the MEN women were older, the MEN women did not differ for weight, BMI or body fat%. but did differ for BMD (MEN 1.17 vs YNG 1.24). Weight and central adiposity as measured by waist circumference was related to BMD (p < 0.05) in both RUN and NOR. Consistent with expectation, both MEN/RUN and MEN/NOR had lower BMD (p< 0.05) than the YNG/RUN and YNG/NOR. The MEN/RUN had a higher BP than the other groups and this may have contributed to their BMD response not being higher than the NOR. CONCLUSIONS: Although further study is needed to validate the findings in this study, these data indicate that a history of running does not result in a higher BMD in MEN women. This may have been partially due to the fact that body composition was not different between the groups and therefore the runners were not placing greater stress on the bones.