gymnastics is good for kids

One of my former gymnasts, Marta Erlandson, did post-Grad research on gymnastics.

She debunks some of the negative mythology (i.e. “gymnastics makes you short“) that somehow seems to perpetuate itself in the popular media.

… Gymnastics places tremendous strain on wrists and forearms, and ankle joints take a pounding from hard landings. Many studies show the high impact nature of gymnastics stunts growth, presumably by prematurely closing growth plates at the ends of bones.

But Erlandson’s study took a novel approach, accounting for menarche — or the onset of menstruation — of the girls who took part in the study, not just their age.

“There are all kinds of studies that have looked at gymnasts and shown that at nine to 12 years of age, gymnasts are significantly shorter than other athletes,” she says.

“But then you go back and look at their doctor’s measurement from when they were one to three years old and they were also significantly shorter.”

The study, which compared timing and tempo of maturation in female gymnasts to swimmers and tennis players, showed no significant difference in the pattern of growthand development of the gymnasts with their counterparts.

“Gymnastic training didn’t compromise adult height,” says Erlandson. “It is more likely that gymnasts and other athletes are selected into participating in the sport most suited to their body size, which is related to their maturity.” …

“Gymnastics is actually very good for children’s development,” she says. “For the general population putting children in gymnastics may have beneficial effects for body composition later in life. Children may have decreased obesity, stronger functional strength, better body awareness and increased bone density, which is shown to decrease osteoporosis later in life.”

U of Saskatchewan – Grad Student Flips Popular Belief About Gymnastics

Marta has a number of research projects based on the same research. Her dissertation, published 2007, is posted online: The Effects of a Gymnastics Program on Early Childhood Body Composition Development

The C Score points out that media reports on scientific research like this are often misleading.

.. National Osteoporosis Society … their own study, which shows that girls 8-17 engaged in “high intensity gymnastic training” had bone densities 13-28 percent higher than matched controls. They also didn’t find evidence of stunted growth or that gymnasts were not receiving adequate nutrition. …

Doctors fight back against London Times article about bone growth in gymnasts