Swimming Enhances Bone Mass Acquisition in Growing Female Rats

Table 1 Bone mineral content, bone mineral density and bone area measured at the femur, lumbar spine and whole body, for the three groups, before a 6wk exercise intervention. Data are means (±SD).

	Bone mineral content (mg	Bone mineral density (mg·cm^–2)	Bone area (cm²)
Femur
Control	164 (31)	174 (17)	.94 (.09)
Swimmers	146 (22)	169 (12)	.86 (.07)
Runners	178 (14)	180 (7)	.99 (.05)
Lumbar spine
Control	301 (50)	160 (13)	1.87 (.16)
Swimmers	279 (38)	157 (10)	1.77 (.15)
Runners	339 (36)	168 (9)	2.01 (.12)
Whole body
Control	4497 (558)	111 (9)	40.54 (2.77)
Swimmers	4106 (371)	108 (6)	38.05 (2.10)
Runners	4681 (351)	118 (49	39.77 (2.74)