PURPOSE: The primary aim is to compare body composition, specifically bone mineral density (BMD) and associated Z-score, in male National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes across five different sports. Secondary measures include lean body mass (LBM) and body fat percentage (BF%). METHODS: In this observational, cross-sectional study, five collegiate sports team athletes representing endurance-dominant (soccer, running, swimming) versus strength-based sports (football, basketball) consented to participate in a pre-season whole-body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. One-way ANOVA (Brown-Forsythe) with multiple comparisons tests were used to statistically compare BMD (and associated Z-score), LBM, and BF% values between sports, with significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: 165 male athletes participated, with ANOVA tests revealing statistical differences between sports for all body composition parameters measured (p<0.0001). Football players (n=99) demonstrated the highest while swimmers (n=19) had the lowest BMD (1.37± 0.10g/cm2 vs. 1.14±0.07g/cm2, p < 0.001). There were no differences (p>0.05) in BMD between football vs. basketball (n=16) players (1.33±0.09g/cm2) or soccer players (N=20; 1.26 ± 0.06 g/cm2) compared to cross-country runners (N=11; 1.17 ± 0.07g/cm2). While BMD was similar (p>0.05) between swimmers and cross-country runners. In comparisons between sports for Z-scores (F=39.73; p<0.0001), football players had the highest scores (1.48±0.09) followed by basketball players (0.77±0.75), soccer players (0.42±0.77), cross country (0.00±0.57) and swimmers (-0.57±0.77). Basketball players had the highest LBM (78.7±8kg) next to football (72.0±12kg) while football had the highest %BF (24±6%) across sports. CONCLUSION: Football and basketball requires greater high intensity resistance training over endurance (vertical + non-vertical loading) training, whereas cross country, swimming and soccer requires greater endurance over resistance training. Furthermore, soccer and cross-country have similar running demands and showed no significance in BMD. We believe that the osteogenic contributions of resistance training on BMD are underappreciated and warrant further investigation as a strategy for maximizing skeletal health in young adults.
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