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Exercise Tip of the Month
Strong Muscles, Strong Bones
Exercise in any form - mild, moderate or intense - is good for you and
can help reduce the risk of disease and keep the heart healthy.
But
when it comes to strengthening bones, milder forms of activity may not be
enough.
Thirty-eight men and 46 women, ages 55 to 75 years, all of
whom were generally healthy but didn’t exercise regularly, were recruited to
help determine the link between physical activity and bone strength.
Researchers concluded that neither overall aerobic fitness nor mild physical
activity had a significant effect on bone density. Greater muscle strength,
however, was associated with stronger bones.
''Although some
activity may be better than none at all for certain aspects of health, like
heart health, milder forms of activity may not be sufficient to hold off or
attenuate the age-related decline in bone,'' says lead researcher Dr. Kerry
J. Stewart of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore,
Maryland.
Source: Journal of Internal
Medicine, 2002; 252, 5, 381-388
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