Growth and development of female dancers aged 8-16 years
Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. knopp@wincol.ac.il
Original Research Article
American Journal Human Biology, 2008 May-Jun;20(3):299-307.
Little data are available on the growth and development of young female dancers.
Goal: determine whether the body structure and adipose tissue distribution of dancers aged 8-16 years differ from that of non-dancer girls.
Methods: Our cross-sectional study included a group of 1,482 female dancers, aged 8-16 years, and a control group of 226 female non-dancers of similar age cohorts. Fourteen anthropometric measurements were recorded and 15 indices calculated. In none of the linear anthropometric measures, were significant differences found between the two groups. The only significant difference relates to the extent and distribution of adipose tissue: At age 8, both groups show similar weight while at age 13 non-dancers are significantly heavier than dancers (48.4 +/- 9.8 kg for non-dancers and 40.6 +/- 8.7 kg for dancers). At age 15, weight differences between the two groups decrease to only 2 kg. The differences in weight are also expressed in skinfold thickness and chest circumference.
Patterns of adipose tissue distribution differ between the two groups. Mean age at menarche was 13.1 years among dancers and 12.3 years in non-dancers.
Conclusions: musculoskeletal development was found to be very similar in dancers and non-dancers:
(a) dancers and non-dancers (age 8–16 years) share similar body physique and proportion;
(b) dancers and non-dancers manifest similar growth patterns;
(c) fat is distributed differently in dancers compared to nondancers;
d) some delay in age at menarche was observed.
e) The fear of delayed growth from participation in dance training is unjustified.
The specific body type reported for professional dancers is more likely acquired via "teacher's selection" and not training programs.
Parents should not dread the possibility that dance training will delay the growth or reduce the height of their daughters.
Clinical implication
The present study reinforces the idea set forth by several studies (e.g., Baxter-Jones and Maffulli, 2002; Matthews et al., 2006) that dance training does not appear to affect growth. Young dancers (8–16) do not have, or develop, a ‘‘specific’’ body structure but those with the ideal body structure are selected to continue with dancing. In a previous study (Steinberg et al., 2006), we have also demonstrated that dancers’ ROM does not improve or diminish with age, but rather is preserved.
As dancers may restrict caloric intake in order to maintain a low body weight (e.g., Eliakim et al., 2000), dance teachers must carefully monitor and assess dancers in order to detect early anomalies and prevent risky weight-reduction behavior.
O conhecimento dos padrões de crescimento e de maturação neurobiológica de cada jovem bailarina, a avaliação das suas características físicas e psicossociais, o domínio dos factores de risco de lesão (extrínsecos e intrínsecos) associados à prática da cada tipo de dança devem constituir os pilares fundamentais da intervenção multidisciplinar centrada nas jovens bailarinas e que deve envolver professores, pais, fisioterapeutas e médicos, para que se possa praticar a dança num contexto de maior prazer, segurança e afirmação individual e colectiva.
Ana Azevedo e Raul Oliveira, Fisioterapeutas
Consulta da(o) Bailarina(o)
R´Equilibri_us - Gabinete de Fisioterapia
Av. D. João I, nº 8, Oeiras
309 984 508 / 917231718
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