Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3239
Date of Award
3-2026
Degree Name
MS in Nutrition
Department/Program
Food Science and Nutrition
College
College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences
Advisor
Scott Reaves
Advisor Department
Food Science and Nutrition
Advisor College
College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences
Abstract
Bone mineral density (BMD) is a critical indicator of both performance and long-term health in athletes. From a research perspective, evaluation and monitoring of BMD provides some insight into how training load, sport type, and nutrition interact to influence a persons skeleton. The identification of sport-specific differences enables practitioners to recognize populations at a higher risk for low BMD and utilize these findings to understand an athlete's optimal performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of sport type, sex, and body composition on BMD in collegiate athletes.
This cross-sectional observational study included collegiate swimmers, soccer players, and softball/baseball players who underwent assessment of BMD using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Body composition, including percent body fat, was measured. Group differences were evaluated across both sport and sex. Additionally, the associations between body composition variables and BMD were examined.
The results demonstrated that both male and female swimmers had significantly lower BMD compared to athletes in weight-bearing sports, perhaps highlighting the critical role of mechanical loading in bone health. Female swimmers had lower BMD than both female soccer and softball players, and male swimmers had lower BMD than male soccer and softball players. The absence of a significant interaction by sex indicates that the sport-specific differences were consistent across sexes. The significant positive association between percent body fat and BMD was observed in male soccer players (p = 0.021), suggesting a relationship between energy reserves and bone health.