Young Ballerinas May Face Heart, Bone Risks

(HealthDay News) -- Young ballerinas who stop menstruating because they don't eat enough to cover their energy output face the same heart and bone health risks as other young female athletes in the same circumstances, new research suggests.

Inadequate food intake and lack of menstruation can place dancers at higher risk for the "cardiovascular and bone density deficits of much older, postmenopausal women," study leader Dr. Anne Hoch, a sports medicine expert at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, said in a news release from the college.

Hoch and colleagues studied 22 young professional ballerinas to determine the incidence of disordered eating, lack of menstruation (amenorrhea), abnormal vascular function and low bone density. Read more...