Physically Active Children have Better Bone Health at Old Age

Being physically active during childhood may ward off many bone-related injuries at old age, a new study says.

For the study, Bjorn Rosengren and colleagues from Sweden selected 808 children (362 girls and 446 boys) and compared them to a control group of 1,587 children (780 girls and 807 boys). The first group of children was part of a daily 40-minute physical activity program in school, while the control group attended a 60-minute physical activity program weekly. All the children were aged between 7 and 9 and underwent the program for six years.

Skeletal development of the participants and fracture cases among them were collected and recorded every year. Researchers noticed that fracture cases were higher among the control group than the children who attended daily exercise classes. The intervention group also showed improvement in spine bone density compared to the other group.

"According to our study, exercise interventions in childhood may be associated with lower fracture risks as people age, due to the increases in peak bone mass that occurs in growing children who perform regular physical activity," lead author Rosengren from Skane University Hospital in Malmo, Sweden, said in a news release. 

To analyze the importance of physical activity among childhood and its power in preserving bone health in old age, the investigators looked at another 2,077 men, aged 69 and above. Of the total participants, 709 males were athletes earlier. Researchers analyzed the history of fractures and rates of bone density loss among the participants. The former athletes showed better bone health compared to the control group (1,368).

"Increased activity in the younger ages helped induce higher bone mass and improve skeletal size in girls without increasing the fracture risk," Rosengren said. "Our study highlights yet another reason why kids need to get regular daily exercise to improve their health both now and in the future." 

Findings of the study were presented recently at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in Chicago.

This is not the first study to highlight the role of physical activity during childhood. Many studies have shown that physical activity helps children fight obesity, deal with stress and most importantly, to excel in studies.