Higher scores on the eating disorder inventory are related to bone loss in male military cadets

There is little known on the impact of eating disorders on bone density in college-aged physically active males. This analysis included 70 Caucasian/Asian males that had 4 years of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements of the spine and hip and completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2). Slopes of change in spine and hip BMD were determined over 4 years. The only baseline differences were that males in the highest EDI quartile were heavier (173 vs. 158 lb, respectively, p = 0.06) and daily calcium intake was significantly lower (1620 mg vs. 1743 mg, respectively, p = 0.03). Calcium intake was not related to 4-year change in spine or hip BMD. EDI score was inversely related to 4-year change in both spine BMD (r = − 0.165, p = 0.17) and hip BMD (r = − 0.288, p < 0.02). The average change in total hip BMD over the 4 years was − 1.3% in male cadets in the highest EDI quartile as compared to a gain of + 0.78% in male cadets in the rest of the cohort (p = 0.04). These differences persisted when controlling for weight and calcium intake. There is a possibility that subclinical eating disorders exist in a college age physically active population of males and could have significant detrimental effects on bone gain.