Exercise build bone strength in children

Children need vigorous exercise for at least 25 minutes daily to build strong bones. While exercise is known to help people accumulate bone density in their early years, the amount of activity children need for optimum bone health remains unclear. Therefore, researchers from Portugal analysed the relationship between intensity and duration of physical activity and bone strength. They studied 143 girls and 150 boys who were an average age of 10 years. Researchers evaluated their compressive, bending and impact strength of the femoral neck, the upper part of thigh bone. They used devices called accelerometers to objectively measure the intensity and duration of exercise. The main type of activity related to femoral neck strength was vigorous exercise, which the researchers define as brisk walking, jogging, running or jumping. Compressive and bending strength indicate a bone's response to weight-bearing exercise, while impact strength shows a bone's ability to withstand forces absorbed when a person is standing. Researchers found that the boys, who got more than 26 minutes of this type of activity daily had greater compressive, bending and impact strength than boys who got 12 minutes or less each day. For girls, those who got at least 25 minutes of vigorous activity had greater bone mineral content in their femoral neck and more bending strength in the bone than those who were active for eight minutes a day or less. Findings revealed that the boys had stronger femoral necks than did the girls. Childhood and adolescence are key times for building bone mass and strength, and daily vigorous physical activity for at least 25 minutes helps to build stronger bones in children.

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