Exercising outdoors 'builds strong bones'
07/05/2010 Exercising outdoors when you're young could help you develop stronger bones later in life, a new report suggests.
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden carried out a study on more than 3,000 men and found that those who exercised regularly had denser bones.
It was also found that those who had previously been involved in exercising outdoors but had given up more than six years ago still had stronger bones than those who had never done sports.
This trend carried through to men aged 75, as those who had regularly taken part in sports at some time between the ages of ten and 30 had higher bone density that those who hadn't.
Martin Nilsson, physiotherapist and doctoral student at the Institute of Medicine, said: "The bones respond best when you're young and if you train and load them with your own bodyweight during these years, it has a stimulating effect on their development."
The results suggest that those who exercise while they're young could lower their risk of developing osteoporosis.
Dr Linda Voss, coordinator of the EarlyBird Diabetes Study, said recently that encouraging children to spend time exercising outdoors is important to help them learn healthy lessons for life.
Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden carried out a study on more than 3,000 men and found that those who exercised regularly had denser bones.
It was also found that those who had previously been involved in exercising outdoors but had given up more than six years ago still had stronger bones than those who had never done sports.
This trend carried through to men aged 75, as those who had regularly taken part in sports at some time between the ages of ten and 30 had higher bone density that those who hadn't.
Martin Nilsson, physiotherapist and doctoral student at the Institute of Medicine, said: "The bones respond best when you're young and if you train and load them with your own bodyweight during these years, it has a stimulating effect on their development."
The results suggest that those who exercise while they're young could lower their risk of developing osteoporosis.
Dr Linda Voss, coordinator of the EarlyBird Diabetes Study, said recently that encouraging children to spend time exercising outdoors is important to help them learn healthy lessons for life.
