A new study, developed by the University of Malaga (UMA), shows that the use of oral contraceptives does not intervene in the levels of strength or body composition of female athletes. Therefore, the authors affirm that its use does not harm their sports performance.
For almost a decade, the Laboratory of Human Motricity and Body Composition of the University of Malaga (UMA) studies the relationship between physical activity, body corporation and development of cognitive skills.
In one of their latest studies on sports performance, researchers in this laboratory have shown that the use of oral contraceptives has no negative effects on strength levels in trained women or on their body composition (fat, muscle and bone mass and physical performance).
This is a work, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, which analyzed about twenty women, between 24 and 30 years, with more than two years of continuous strength training and, who at least, have been taking oral contraceptives for six months.
“We divided the women into two groups, those who took contraceptives and those who did not and, for several months, after an initial measurement, we controlled their diet and training,” explains Ángel Ramón Romance, professor of psychomotor skills and head of the laboratory, who has carried out the study together with Javier Benítez, from the area of Physical and Sports Education, principal investigator of the project, and Salvador Vargas.
The results, according to the researchers, showed no differences between the two groups, so they state that contraceptive consumption does not affect the sports performance of trained women.
This laboratory of the UMA performs in its facilities body assessments for other research groups and also has active projects with hospitals in Malaga related to childhood obesity and physical activity in the elderly. Physical exercise as an indicator of quality in early childhood education and its role in the creative development of children are other of its current R&D lines.
Source: SINC
