Notes from the journals

Influence of sports participation and menarche on bone mineral density of female high school athletes Barkai HS, Nichols JF, Rauh MJ, et al. J Sci Med Sport 2007;10:170–9 Study. Sports participation before and after menarche was investigated in 99 female high-school athletes aged 15.5 years, using an interviewer-assisted questionnaire. The average length of weight-bearing sports participation was over 7 years. Of the athletes, 72% began sports participation before menarche. Individuals were compared with those who did less sport, and bone mineral density (BMD) at spine, hip, trochanter and total body was measured in both groups. Results were adjusted for age, gynaecological age and body mass index (BMI). Results. Those with higher BMD had exercised for more years (9.2 years) than those with lower BMD (5 years). These results indicate that near year-round participation in structured weight-bearing sports during early adolescence may help young girls optimize bone mineral accrual during these critical years, and may decrease their risk of osteoporosis with advancing age. Comment JMcG. As considerable research has shown that cola-type beverages reduce BMD, it would have been more accurate if the authors had corrected for this aspect of lifestyle. ST AR P AP ER Menopause International 2007; 13: 135–136