Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology is the lead author of an article published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. The article entitled “Male and female collegiate ice hockey athletes’ body composition over competitive seasons” examines body composition using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 83 male and female NCAA Division I collegiate ice hockey athletes during the pre-season, in-season and off-season. The large number of athletes studied allowed the authors to examine data by position (i.e., goalie, forwards, defensemen) as well as sex and regional body composition measurements.

One of the main findings of this study was that within male ice hockey athletes there were no differences in measures of body composition across position nor were there any seasonal changes in body composition. However, there were positional as well as seasonal changes in body composition in women, indicating possible differences in training regimens during the off-season compared to men. Co-authors of this article include Madeline Czeck and Erica Roelofs, current doctoral students in the School of Kinesiology as well as Tyler Bosch, PhD graduate from the School of Kinesiology.