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Early
Exercise Wards Off Osteoporosis
Girls who do regular jumping exercises around the age of
10 may add bone mass that could delay the onset of osteoporosis
in later years, researchers said.
The conclusion came from a two-year study of 34 girls given
the exercise regime during regular school physical education
classes who were compared to 46 comparable girls who did
not do the exercise.
The girls did jumping jacks, jumped off platforms and jumped
forward, and did side-to-side jumps at six stations on a
track, running or skipping in between, with the height and
impact of the jumps increasing over the course of the study.
Those who completed the exercise course three times a week
during their school years had nearly a 5 percent better
gain in bone minerals, the study found.
"We designed a safe, effective, relatively simple,
and inexpensive program of diverse activities that can be
implemented in elementary school physical education to enhance
bone mineral accrual during childhood," the study said.
"If maintained this advantage in bone mineral accrual
represents the equivalent of 3 to 5 years of post-menopausal
bone loss," it added.
The study was done by researchers at British Columbia Children's
Hospital and the University of British Columbia. It was
published in the December issue of Pediatrics, the journal
of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Osteoporosis is a loss of bone mass that often accompanies
aging. It causes bones to become brittle and more easily
broken, and tends to affect women more than men because
post-menopausal women have diminished estrogen production.
The hormone helps maintain bone mass.
Heather McKay, one of the authors, said in an interview
that exercise is recognized as the primary stimulus for
skeletal development, and that even babies who kick or move
about a lot in the womb appear to wind up with stronger
bones.
Article Source: Reuters Health
Article Author: N/A
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