(September 10, 2003) - Bethesda, MD -- Intense training has been found to delay the onset of puberty in females by altering normal hormonal development. This has led to delayed pubertal onset, delayed age at first menarche and failure to develop mature skeletal structure. In males, despite evidence that physical activity can also result in hormonal changes, there have been few studies that examined the relationship between training and the onset of puberty.

Accordingly, a new study has been undertaken to evaluate the effect of intense training during somatic growth and skeletal development on the onset of puberty in male gymnasts. The researchers hypothesized that after several years of training, the increased energy expenditure by elite gymnasts would result in lower levels of testosterone than other boys of their age, leading to a delay in physical growth characteristics and markers of sexual maturation.

A New Study

The study, entitled "Physical and Pubertal Development in Young Male Gymnasts" was conducted by Brendon Gurd and Panagiota Klentrou, both of the Department of Physical Education and Kinesiology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Their findings appear in the September 2003 edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology. The journal is one of 14 scientific journals published monthly by the American Physiological Society (APS) (http://www.the-aps.org).

Methodology

A total of 21 elite gymnasts (GYM) (13.3 0.3 years) were recruited from competitive gymnastics clubs around Southern Ontario, Canada. In order to qualify for the experimental group, gymnasts had to be competing at a minimum of a provincial level and training at least 15 hours per week. A total of 24 age-matched boys (13.5 0.3 years) were recruited from recreational martial arts classes to participate as the control groups (CON). These boys were training not more than two hours per weeks. '"/>

Contact: Donna Krupa
djkrupa1@aol.com
703-527-7357
American Physiological Society
23-Sep-2003

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