BONE-MINERAL DENSITY IN ELITE JUNIOR OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTERS

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of bone mine ral density (BMD) to muscular strength in highly trained young male at hletes in order to gain insights concerning the influence of heavy res istance training on BMD. Twenty-five elite junior weightlifters (age, 17.4 +/-1.4 yr) and 11 age-matched controls (16.9 +/- 1.1 yr) voluntee red for this investigation. Measurements of BMD (g.cm-2) utilizing dua l energy x-ray absorptiometry were obtained for the lumbar spine (L2-4 ) and the proximal femur (neck; trochanter, Ward's triangle). The BMD values for the junior lifters were found to be significantly greater a t all sites for the junior weightlifters compared with their age-match ed control group. The BMD values of the spine and femoral neck of the junior weightlifters when compared with adult reference data (i.e., 20 -39 yr old men) were found to be significantly greater. Both simple an d multiple regression analyses demonstrated significant relationships of BMD with strength accounting for 30-65% of the variance. These data suggest that in elite junior weightlifters, muscle strength, highly s pecific to the sport of weightlifting, has a major influence on BMD du e to the influence of the chronic overloads experienced in training.