Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008:52.
doi: 10.3402/fnr.v52i0.1871. Epub 2008 Oct 1.

Physical activity increases bone mass during growth

Magnus K Karlsson  1 , Anders Nordqvist, Caroline Karlsson
Affiliations

Physical activity increases bone mass during growth

Magnus K Karlsson et al. Food Nutr Res. 2008.

Abstract

Background: The incidence of fragility fractures has increased during the last half of the 1990's. One important determinant of fractures is the bone mineral content (BMC) or bone mineral density (BMD), the amount of mineralised bone. If we could increase peak bone mass (the highest value of BMC reached during life) and/or decrease the age-related bone loss, we could possibly improve the skeletal resistance to fracture.

Objective: This review evaluates the importance of exercise as a strategy to improve peak bone mass, including some aspects of nutrition.

Design: PUBLICATIONS WITHIN THE FIELD WERE SEARCHED THROUGH MEDLINE (PUBMED) USING THE SEARCH WORDS: exercise, physical activity, bone mass, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, BMC, BMD, skeletal structure and nutrition. We included studies dealing with exercise during growth and young adolescence. We preferably based our inferences on randomised controlled trials (RCT), which provide the highest level of evidence.

Results: Exercise during growth increases peak bone mass. Moderate intensity exercise intervention programs are beneficial for the skeletal development during growth. Adequate nutrition must accompany the exercise to achieve the most beneficial skeletal effects by exercise.

Conclusion: Exercise during growth seems to enhance the building of a stronger skeleton through a higher peak bone mass and a larger bone size.

Keywords: bone mass; bone mineral content, BMC; bone mineral density, BMD; exercise; growth; nutrition; physical activity; skeletal structure.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
The mean playing-to-non-playing arm difference in the bone mineral content of the humeral shaft (percentage difference of bone mineral content) according to the biological age at which training was started, that is, according to the starting age of playing relative to the age at menarche. Bars represent 95% CIs. Adapted from Kannus et al. .
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Bone mineral density (BMD) of the head, the arms and the legs, in active male soccer players, male weight lifters and female gymnasts expressed as Z scores (number of standard deviations (SD) above or below age predicted mean). Adapted from Karlsson et al. (31, 34) and Bass et al. .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Cooper C, Campion G, Melton LJ., 3rd Hip fractures in the elderly: a world-wide projection. Osteoporos Int. 1992;2:285–9. - PubMed
    1. Cooper C, Melton LJ., 3rd . Magnitude and impact of osteoporosis and fractures. In: Marcus R, Feldman D, Kelsey J, editors. Osteoporosis. San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 1996. pp. 419–34.
    1. Johnell O, Gullberg B, Kanis JA, Allander E, Elffors L, Dequeker J, et al. Risk factors for hip fracture in European women: the MEDOS Study. Mediterranean Osteoporosis Study. J Bone Miner Res. 1995;10:1802–15. - PubMed
    1. Jonsson B. Life style and fracture risk. Thesis. Sweden: University of Lund; 1993.
    1. Kanis JA, Oden A, Johnell O, Jonsson B, de Laet C, Dawson A. The burden of osteoporotic fractures: a method for setting intervention thresholds. Osteoporos Int. 2001;12:417–27. - PubMed