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Expert Q&A

	By David L. Fay, M.D. Family Physician Associate Director, Waukesha Family Practice Residency Program

My 11-year-old daughter is taking gymnastics in school. Does gymnastics have an adverse impact on her feminine growth or appearance?

Most of the studies that have examined the impact of gymnastics on girls have been done on girls who participate heavily, and not recreational gymnasts. What they have found is that girls who are "elite" gymnasts have delayed puberty, decreased growth (height), and wrist changes where the bones on the pinkie side of the wrist become slightly longer than the bones on the thumb side. The good aspects are that they have lifelong lower body fat and higher bone density.

It appears that these effects are a result of how early girls start gymnastics and how heavily they participate. So, a girl who participates at a lower level after puberty is not at much risk for these problems.

Gymnastics at school is not likely to be intense enough to cause the problems.

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