Use It Or Lose It – Are You Protecting Your Kids’ Bones?

Our bone wellness can sometimes be forgotten even though our skeleton is the unsung hero of our bodies. We can’t see bones so it’s easy to forget the important role they have in allowing us to be mobile and protecting our organs from harm. In fact, we may only realise their contribution to our wellbeing when something goes wrong, like a fracture or if we’re diagnosed with osteoporosis. A new study is reminding us that we could do with taking care of our bones from an early age.

Why so young

Some cells in our body don’t renew as efficiently as we get older, and this is true of our bones. Most of our bone mineral density (BMD) is laid down in our teens and early 20s, after this we lose cells. It’s been known for some time that this is the case and that our younger years are the time to build up a good ‘bone bank’ via a nutrient-rich diet. Now a study from the Wright State University School of Medicine reveals that exercise is also very important in our younger years.

Getting active

Researchers measured the bone density of 99 young people aged from 8 until 18. They found that those who continued to exercise before, during and after puberty had higher rates of BMD than youngsters who didn’t do regular physical activity. A second study from Finland’s Turku University Central Hospital backs these findings. Here, the researchers compared girls’ BMD and their activity levels. Those who carried on exercising regularly over a seven-year period had a 24 per cent increase in BMD and girls who had the least physical activity had only a 16 per cent increase in their BMD. A further study from Brazil asked 1,000 people about their exercise levels between the ages of 10 and 19, finding that those who cited higher activity levels had 45 per cent less chance of being diagnoses with osteoporosis.

What to do

Researchers say puberty can be a difficult time to keep children interested in physical activity. They advise us to take a flexible approach and try and help our kids choose hobbies they will enjoy and allow them to change their activities should they get bored. Making sure they eat plenty of calcium and Vitamin D-rich meals also gives them the necessary minerals to build strong bones.