Higher-impact exercise including running and jumping is the most important type of activity for building stronger bones - especially around the time of puberty.
Previous studies have confirmed the importance of weight-bearing exercises in bone health across a person’s life span. Therefore, researchers reviewed several studies to find a range of activities appearing to be beneficial for bone mass and strength.
Weight-bearing activities such as running, jumping rope and lifting weights, put the bones under stress. This forces the bones to respond by becoming stronger. In contrast, low-impact exercise, like biking or swimming, works the heart and trims the waistline, but puts little strain on the bones.
Some activities, like gymnastics, ballet and competitive rope jumping, were found to boost young people's bone mass because of the magnitude of the stress they place on the bones. In other cases, it was the rate of the stress - as in weight lifting, which involves quick muscle contractions - that appeared to benefit bone strength.
There were many facets related to maintaining bone health, which includes genetic, intrinsic, and environmental factors, but physical activity was one of the strongest means to develop and maintain healthy bone mass. Weight bearing exercise - even for just 20 minutes per day - can strengthen the skeleton significantly.
The researchers suggested young children to exercise regularly to develop healthy bone structures and for long-term injury prevention.