Intensive dance practice. Repercussions on growth and puberty.

To determine the effect of intensive sports training on growth and puberty, we studied a group of 97 young female dancers longitudinally for 5 years. We studied the changes in their heights, weights, and pubertal developments and compared these findings with those of a control group. We found that 15 (16%) dancers who started dance training had noticeably decreased growth velocity during the prepuberty stage after the beginning of ballet practice compared with the control group. This group had the same average training time compared with the other dancers, but these dancers were the slimmest and had the most inadequate nutritional intake. Puberty in dancers was delayed compared with the controls. We found that moderately intensive dance practice can lead to eating disorders and weight control early in childhood, with consequences that are poorly known. Weight and height statistics of children who practice individual sports involving body aesthetics must be monitored to detect early anomalies.