This study compared bone mineral density (BMD) and blood pressure in non-menopausal and post-menopausal women who were runners or non-runners. The post-menopausal women had lower BMD than the non-menopausal women, and age was the only factor that produced a significant difference in BMD between the groups. Weight and central adiposity were positively correlated with BMD in both runners and non-runners. While running did not result in higher BMD or lower blood pressure in post-menopausal women, the post-menopausal runners tended to have higher blood pressure than the other groups, which may have contributed to their BMD response not being higher than the

1. DOES RUNNING AND BONE MINERAL DENSITY AFFECT BLOOD PRESSURE IN
NON- AND POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN
Doris J. Morris1,2, Inbar Naor-Maxwell1, Anjulyn Davis1, Christina, St. Martins1, L. Jerome
Brandon1, FACSM; University of West Georgia, Carrollton GA & Georgia State University,
Atlanta, GA
The literature is mixed as to the benefits of weight bearing activities such as running on
osteogenic responses for non- (N-MEN) and postmenopausal (MEN) women. PURPOSE:
Therefore, this study was designed to compare bone mineral density (BMD) in N-MEN and
MEN women with a running (RUN) history and those who were not runners (N-RUN).
METHODS: A repeated measures design was employed as 100 Women (30 N-RUN/N-MEN;
12 N-RUN/MEN; 42 RUN/N-MEN; 16 RUN/MEN) were evaluated for differences and
relationships between BMD, blood pressure (BP) and body composition. RESULTS: Although
the MEN women were older (MEN 55.6 yrs. vs N-MEN 36.2 yrs.) the MEN women did not
differ for body fat% (MEN 38.5%; N-MEN 34.5%, p < 0.05) but did differ for BMD (MEN 1.11
vs N-MEN 1.23). Weight and central adiposity as measured by waist circumference was related
to BMD in both RUN (r= 0.43; p< 0.01) and N-RUN (r = 0.28; p < 0.05). Age was the only
factor that produced a difference (p< 0.05) in BMD in the N-MEN and MEN. The RUN/MEN
had a trend toward a higher BP than the other groups and this may have contributed to their
BMD response not being higher than the N-RUN. CONCLUSIONS: Although further study is
needed to validate the findings in this study, these data indicate that a history of running does not
result in a higher BMD or lower BP in MEN women. This may have been partially because
body composition was not different between the groups and therefore the runners were not
placing greater stress on the bone response.