Influence of physical activity and maturation status on bone mass and geometry in early pubertal girls1

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of leisure-time physical activity on the development of bone mass and density in early pubertal girls. Scores of physical activity were obtained from 242 Finnish girls (10-12 years old within Tanner Stages I-II) using a questionnaire. Bone mass and density were assessed using different densitometric techniques. At Tanner Stage I, active girls had significantly higher bone mineral mass (BMC) and areal bone mineral density (aBMD) of the whole body and cortical volumetric BMD and thickness of the tibial shaft compared with sedentary girls (P<0.05). On the other hand, the active girls at Tanner Stage II showed significantly higher values only in BMC an…