Different Sports in Adolescence: Effect on Lipid Profile, Glucose Metabolism, Body Composition, Bone Density, Bone Quality, Bone Markers, Vascular Function and Structure, Pituitary and Hypothalamic Antibodies.
Sports require many physical, technical and mental abilities, and different physical activities may have an important role in body growth, metabolism regulation and bone architecture. In particular, one the most successful measure to prevent osteopenia in old age is building bones as strong as possible during adolescence when bone growth is high. Within competitive sports, studies support the greater beneficial effects on bone mass and bone geometric of disciplines that include impact activities, in which body weight plays a significant role, in comparison to non impact activities, such as swimming.
Following regular training, i.e. more than two hours three times a week, a beneficial influence can be observed on the lipid profile, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular system, muscle, bone mass and density.1-3 To our knowledge, however, it is not known which is the most healthiest sport and furthermore how each sport influences the different parameters. On the other hand contact sports which imply tackles such as rugby or hockey expose the athlete to the risk of brain trauma
which may cause different hypothalamic and pituitary hormonal deficits.
In an attempt to summarize in a unique score the results of the different findings we assigned, according to the results of the ANOVA evaluation, a plus or a minus for each parameter resulted significantly positive or negative compared to the other groups.
Sport Exerc Med Open J. 2015; 1(3): 97-104. doi: 10.17140/SEMOJ-1-115
