Objective:
Bone mineral density (BMD) is a measure of bone quality. Several factors affect BMD. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anthropometric characteristics, type of martial arts, physical activity, and dietary habits on BMD of elite martial arts athletes in Thessaloniki region, Northern Greece.

Methods:
Data collection was performed through anthropometric measurements, body composition analysis and a questionnaire completion. BMD was measured using Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. The sample consisted of 32 elite athletes. Statistical analysis (ANOVA, Regression Analysis, etc.) was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v26.0.

Results:
The mean age of the sample was 17±1.77 years. 71.9% of athletes were males and 53.1% were training in wrestling. The measurements of BMD in lumbar spine (L1-L4) (x ̅=1.28), BMD in left and right dual femur (x ̅l=1.27 & x ̅r=1.28) and BMD in left and right forearm (x ̅l,r=0.72), were examined. The mean values of BMD in lumbar spine and in right dual femur were almost equal between males and females. Instead, the mean values of BMD in left dual femur and in left and right forearm were higher in males. There were positively correlations of BMD with age, Body Mass Index (BMI), Fat-Free Mass Index (FFMI) and daily energy expenditure. For instance, based on one of the multiple linear regression models, if BMI and FFMI increased by 1 unit, BMD in right dual femur will get increased by 0.010 and 0.014 units, respectively. Greco roman wrestling athletes had higher BMD than all the others. The interaction of diets for losing and gaining weight was statistically significant for BMD in right dual femur.

Conclusions:
BMD is beneficially affected from high impact exercise like martial arts, anthropometric characteristics and dietary habits, which makes it a useful predictor for athletes’ health.