Download PDF
Int J Sports Med 2019; 40(06): 404-408
DOI: 10.1055/a-0863-4607
Training & Testing
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Body Composition and Visceral Adipose Tissue in Female Collegiate Equestrian Athletes

Olivia H. Dengel
1   Biology Department, College of Saint Benedict, Saint Joseph, Minnesota, United States
,
Christiana J. Raymond-Pope
2   School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Tyler A. Bosch
3   College of Education+Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
,
Jonathan M. Oliver
4   Department of Kinesiology, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, United States
,
Donald R. Dengel
2   School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
01 April 2019 (online)

Also available at
    Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

To examine measures of total and regional body composition using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in NCAA Division I collegiate equestrian athletes, 31 female collegiate equestrian athletes were matched to a population of normal controls by age and body mass index. Total and regional fat tissue mass (FM), lean tissue mass (LM), bone mineral density (BMD), and abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were measured by DXA. Equestrian athletes had a significantly (p=0.03) lower total body fat percentage (%fat) than controls. There were no significant differences in total LM and VAT between equestrian athletes and controls. However, equestrian athletes, when compared to the controls, had significantly lower leg %fat, leg FM and higher leg LM. The greater leg LM in equestrian riders resulted in a smaller upper to lower body LM ratio compared to controls. There was no difference in leg BMD between equestrian athletes and controls. There were no significant differences between the 2 styles of riding (i. e., hunt seat and western style) in regards to body composition. The lower total %fat in equestrian athletes seems to be influenced by differences in leg composition, with equestrian athletes having significantly more LM and less FM.

Key words

dual X-ray absorptiometry - muscle mass - fat mass
 

  • References

  • 1 Alfredson H, Hedberg G, Bergstrom E, Nordstrom P, Lorentzon R. High thigh muscle strength but not bone mass in young horseback-riding females. Calcif Tissue Int 1998; 62: 497-501
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Bosch TA, Burruss TP, Weir NL, Fielding KA, Engel BE, Weston TD, Dengel DR. Abdominal body composition differences in NFL football players. J Strength Cond Res 2014; 28: 3313-3319
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Bosch TA, Dengel DR, Kelly AS, Sinaiko AR, Moran A, Steinberger J. Visceral adipose tissue measured by DXA correlates with measurement by CT and is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in children. Pediatr Obes 2015; 10: 172-179
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Bosch TA, Dengel DR, Ryder JR, Kelly AS, Chow L. Fitness level is associated with sex-specific regional fat differences in normal weight young adults. J Endocrinol Diabetes 2015; 2: 5
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Bosch TA, Steinberger J, Sinaiko AR, Moran A, Jacobs DR, Kelly AS, Dengel DR. Identification of sex-specific thresholds for accumulation of visceral adipose tissue in adults. Obesity 2015; 23: 437-444
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Bosch TA, Carbuhn A, Stanforth PR, Oliver JM, Keller KA, Dengel DR. Body composition and bone mineral density of Division I collegiate football players, a Consortium of College Athlete Research (C-CAR) study. J Strength Cond Res 2017; DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001888.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Carbuhn AF, Fernandez TE, Bragg AF, Green JS, Crouse SF. Sport and training influence bone and body composition in women collegiate athletes. J Strength Cond Res 2010; 24: 1710-1717
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Faria AN, Ribeiro Filho FF, Gouveia Ferreira SR, Zanella MT. Impact of visceral fat on blood pressure and insulin sensitivity in hypertensive obese women. Obes Res 2002; 10: 1203-1206
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Fehling PC, Alekel L, Clasey J, Rector A, Stillman RJ. A comparison of bone mineral densities among female athletes in impact loading and active loading sports. Bone 1995; 17: 205-210
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Harriss DJ, Macsween A, Atkinson G. Standards for ethics in sport and exercise science research: 2018 update. Int J Sports Med 2017; 38: 1126-1131
    Article in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Jackson KA, Sanchez-Santos MT, MacKinnon AL. et al. Bone density and body composition in newly licensed professional jockeys. Osteoporos Int 2017; 28: 2675-2682
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Kaul S, Rothney MP, Peters DM, Waker WK, Davis CE, Shapiro MD, Ergun DL. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for the quantification of visceral fat. Obesity 2012; 20: 1313-1318
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Lukaski HC. Body Composition in Perspective. In Lukaski HC. Body composition: health and performance in exercise and sport. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2017: 3-11
    Google Scholar
  • 14 Malina RM, Geithner CA. Body composition of young athletes. Am J Lifestyle Med 2011; 5: 262-278
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Meyers MC, Sterling JC. Physical, hematological, and exercise response of collegiate female equestrian athletes. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2000; 40: 131-138
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Meyers MC. Effect of equitation training on health and physical fitness of college females. Eur J Appl Physiol 2006; 98: 177-184
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Mudd LM, Fornetti W, Pivarnik JM. Bone mineral density in collegiate female athletes: comparisons among sports. J Athl Train 2007; 42: 403-408
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Nagaraja MP, Jo H. The role of mechanical stimulation in recovery of bone loss–high versus low magnitude and frequency of force. Life 2014; 4: 117-130
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Robling AG, Turner CH. Mechanical signaling for bone modeling and remodeling. Crit Rev Eukaryot Gene Expr 2009; 19: 319-338
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Shen W, Punyanitya M, Chen J, Gallagher D, Albu J, Pi-Sunyer X, Lewis CE, Grunfeld C, Heymsfield SB, Heshka S. Visceral adipose tissue: Relationships between single slice areas at different locations and obesity-related health risks. Int J Obes 2007; 31: 763-769
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Torres-McGehee TM, Monsma EV, Gay JL, Minton DM, Mady-Foster AN. Prevalence of eating disorder risk and body image distortion among National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I varsity equestrian athletes. J Athl Train 2011; 46: 431-437
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar