Bone Mineral Density In Female Players: Comparisons Among Sports

The purpose of this study was to examine the bone mineral density (BMD) of female college athletes by sports and the relationship between BMD and body composition in an attempt to provide some information on how to improve their athletic performance. The subjects of this study were 73 female college athletes who had exercised for five or more years and had ever won a prize in national competitions: 21 taekwondo, 25 judo, 6 kendo, 9 table tennis and 12 basketball. Their body composition, spinal BMD, femur BMD and total BMD were measured by using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (GE Medical System Lunar, USA). It was found that the judo players were the highest in spinal BMD, followed by the basketball, kendo, table tennis and taekwondo. In terms of femur BMD, judo players were the highest, followed by the basketball, kendo, taekwondo and table tennis.