Bone mass and body composition in college students.
OBJECTIVE
To compare bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition (BC) of college students with different lifestyles.


METHODS
Transversal study with 85 students of Medicine (MED) and Physical Education (PE) at the Universidade Regional de Blumenau, SC, Brazil. The anthropometric, socio-demographic, clinical, and lifestyle variables were obtained through densitometric anamnesis and densitometric variables by dual-energy X-ray (DXA). The statistical tests used were: Student's t-test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression.


RESULTS
PE male students showed a higher amount of lean body mass (79.5 ± 5.9 vs. 75.1 ± 5.3; p = 0.03) and a lower amount of body fat (16.7 ± 6.1 vs. 21.6 ± 5.6; p = 0.02) and PE female students showed a higher amount of lean body mass (68.2 ± 5.5 vs. 65.3 ± 5.5; p = 0.05). The BMD of the neck of femur (NOF), total femur (TF), and total body (TB) was higher in PE students of both genders. PE students practiced more physical activities than MED students. Low bone mass (LBM) was more frequent in MED students (34.9% vs. 4.7%; p = 0.001), provided that the risk of a MED student to show LBM was nine times higher for lumbar spine (LS), five times for NOF, eight times for TF, and seven times for TB.


CONCLUSIONS
BC and BMD were different among the students; MED students have shown a higher risk of having LBM, and PE students practiced more physical activities.
Curso de Graduação em Medicina, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Rua Antônio da Veiga no.140, Blumenau, SC, Brazil.
Cristina
C
Reuter
Carlos Efrain
CE
Stein
Deisi Maria
DM
Vargas
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D015519:Bone Density; D001938:Brazil; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities