Background: During lactation, women may lose up to 10% of bone mineral density (BMD) at trabecular-rich sites. Previous studies show that resistance exercise may slow BMD; however, the long-term effects of exercise on BMD during lactation have not been reported. Objective: To evaluate the effect of two 16-week exercise interventions (4- to 20-wk postpartum) in lactating women at 1-year postpartum on lumbar spine, total body, and hip BMD. Methods: To increase sample size at 1-year postpartum, two 16-week exercise interventions were combined for analysis. At 4-week postpartum, 55 women were randomized to intervention group (weight bearing aerobic exercise and resistance exercise) or control group (no exercise) for 16-week, with a 1-year postpartum follow-up. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was used to test for time and group differences for BMD controlling for prolactin concentration and dietary calcium at 1-year postpartum. Results: Change in l...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between low energy availability (LEA) and nutritional content with high blood pressure (HBP) in African American Division I athletes. Twenty-three D1 African American pre-season athletes were recruited to participate. HBP was defined as >120 systolic blood pressure (BP) and <80 diastolic BP. Athletes self-reported nutritional intake using a non-consecutive 3-day food recall which was then reviewed by a sports dietitian. LEA was evaluated as total energy intake—total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which was predicted. Additionally, micronutrients were evaluated. A statistical analysis relied on Spearman correlation (R), standardized mean difference with 95% confidence interval, mean ± SD, and odds ratios (OR). Correlation values were categorized: 0.20–0.39 = low; 0.40–0.69 = moderate; 0.70–1.0 = strong. A moderate relationship was observed between HBP and LEA (R = 0.56) with 14/23 having HBP. Of the 14 athletes observed with HBP, 78.5% (11/14) were calorically deficient (−529 ± 695 kcal) with an OR of 7.2. Micronutrient intake deficiencies were ubiquitous among the 23 HBP athletes: poly-unsaturated fatty acid −29.6%; omega-3 −26.0%; iron −46.0%; calcium −25.1%; and sodium −14.2%, amongst others. LEA and micronutrient deficiencies may contribute to HBP in Black D1 athletes, which has been shown to be the most common modifiable risk factor to decrease the risk of sudden cardiac death.