Impact of cycling on bone mineral density in men

Bone responds to loads, where increased loads leads to denser bones. Hence certain exercises are very important and have a positive effect on bones. For instance, swimming is a non-weight bearing sport and has little - no effect on bones. While weight-lifting is a weight bearing sport and has a very beneficial effect on bones. There is conflicting evidence on whether cycling is beneficial for areal bone mineral density (aBMD) as it is in between a weight bearing and non-weight bearing sport. Our study aims to look at the effects of cycling on aBMD at an elite level. Study design: This study is in collaboration with an exercise cardiologist at The Baker (ProAFHeart Study). Elite athletes have been recruited from a database of athletes who competed at State, National or International level for 10 or more years. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measured aBMD (whole body, total hip and lumbar spine) and body composition where corrections for body size were made by dividing by height squared (kg/m2) giving fat mass index (FMI) and appendicular lean mass index (ALMI). VO2max (mL/kg/min) was assessed to determine cardiorespiratory fitness. Fasting blood samples were collected to assess lipids and kidney function. Data has already been collected from study participants.