If there wasn’t enough information out there already to prove to parents that physical activity is necessary for their children, the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) just released a new study which linked physical activity in children to a reduced risk of bone fractures later in life. The study was conducted in Sweden over a six year period, and was conducted in two parts.

The first part of the study compared the risk of fractures in children ages 7-9 who received 40 minutes of exercise daily to those who only received 60 minutes total per week. The researchers kept records of all the fractures and followed the skeletal development annually in more than 2,500 children involved in the study. While the number of fractures between the two groups was comparably equal, the children who received exercise daily had an increase in spine bone mineral density then those who did not.

The second part of the study compared former male athletes to those who where not, with both groups having an average age of 70. The study compared how many had suffered fractures and rates of bone density loss between the two groups. The former athlete groups bone mass density dropped only minimally from +1.0 to +0.7 standard deviations compared to the none athlete group.

If you have children, this is just one more reason to get you up off the couch and moving around! Not only is physical activity good for their current health, but it can prove to be valuable to their health later in life as well.

-Scott