According to research appearing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2005;39:282-287), exercise may prevent osteoporosis. The study looked at 300 elite athletes and compared them to 300 controls who were not athletes. The sample was gleaned from 938 athletes and 900 non-athletic controls. The study was completed by 186 of the athletes and 145 of the controls. It was found that bone mineral density was higher in the athletes (1.21 g/cm2) than in the controls (1.18 g/cm2). Participants in high-impact sports tended to have greater bone density than those participating in low-impact sports. Low bone mineral density is 2- to 3-times more common in non-athletic premenopausal women than in elite athletes. Female elite athletes have between 3%-20% greater bone density than non-athletes.