Boutros Finianos has successfully defended his PhD dissertation in Physical Education entitled “The Effects of a 1-year Recreational Football Protocol on Bone Mineral Density and Physical Performance Parameters in a Group of Healthy Inactive 50-year-Old Men”. The dissertation was prepared under the co-tutorship agreement between the University of Balamand and the University of the Littoral Opal Coast, France. It was supervised by Dr. Rawad El Hage, Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Balamand and Dr. Hervé Devanne - University of the Littoral Opal Coast. Based on Boutros’ research, three articles were published in international peer-reviewed journals. Dr. El Hage stated that he is very satisfied with the results of Dr. Finianos’ research, which underlined the need to implement strategies to increase lean mass, maximum oxygen consumption and maximum power of the lower limbs in order to prevent osteoporosis later in life. In addition, this PhD dissertation demonstrates that recreational football is an effective method to improve bone health parameters in middle-aged men.




​