IADMS Madrid 2001   [back to the Category]

Gender differences in metabolic rate among ballet dancers   [read the french version]

Author :   Marijeanne Liederbach, MSATC, MSPT,

Saturday 3 November 2001
11:00 – 11:10 am Room 1

Gender differences in metabolic rate among ballet dancers

Marijeanne Liederbach, MSATC, MSPT, Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, Hospital for Joint Diseases; Beth Glace, MS, Gil W. Glen, PhD, Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital; New York, NY, USA

Disordered eating patterns have been reported in the population of women ballet dancers due to the demands for thinness. Restrictive dieting is suspected to be linked with high rates of menstrual dysfunction and bone injuries. Lowered metabolic rate or decreased thermic effects of food may result from caloric restriction, in turn, influencing bone and muscle anabolism. We evaluated diet and activity records, hormone status, body composition, resting metabolic rate and thermic effect of food for three hours following ingestion of a 500 kcal liquid supplement (Ensure, Abbott Laboratories) in 17 women and 11 men professional ballet dancers. Statistical analysis using MANOVA, Mauchly’s test of sphericity, general lineal models or a post-hoc Scheffee test as indicated when significant F ratios were found, revealed that men exhibited lower metabolic rates (RMR) per kg lean body mass (LBM) at rest as well as throughout digestion than women dancers. Men were also significantly less active than women and appeared to more accurately report total energy intake (TEI) compared to estimates for their total energy expenditure (TEEE).

From the data in this study, there is no evidence that women ballet dancers conserve energy due to restrictive dieting. The increased fracture rates and reproductive disorders they experience may be due to fatigue and repetitive soft tissue microtrauma from significantly increased exercise exposure.