INTENSIVE DANCE PRACTICE - REPERCUSSIONS ON GROWTH AND PUBERTY

To determine the effect of intensive sports training on growth and pub erty, we studied a group of 97 young female dancers longitudinally for 5 years, We studied the changes in their heights, weights, and pubert al developments and compared these findings with those of a control gr oup. We found that 15 (16%) dancers who started dance training had not iceably decreased growth velocity during the prepuberty stage after th e beginning of ballet practice compared with the control group. This g roup had the same average training time compared with the other dancer s, but these dancers were the slimmest and had the most inadequate nut ritional intake. Puberty in dancers was delayed compared with the cont rols. We found that moderately intensive dance practice can lead to ea ting disorders and weight control early in childhood, with consequence s that are poorly known. Weight and height statistics of children who practice individual sports involving body aesthetics must be monitored to detect early anomalies.