Healthy Lifestyle - Running Can Make Your Bones Stronger

by Bob Lachniet
President - Fitness 4 Home Superstore

A weekly run around the park may not put an individual into the same league as Michael Johnson or other Olympic runners, but it may help keep bones healthy, study findings suggest.

In a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 4,454 Black, Mexican-American and white males show that people who run on a regular basis have fewer chronic health problems, weigh less, are usually non-smokers – and, have stronger bones as well!

"This finding may have public health significance, since thigh bone mineral density is a strong predictor of hip fracture, which is the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis from a public health standpoint,'' according to Michael E. Mussolino, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his colleagues.

In addition, average bone mineral density in the thigh was 5% higher in joggers than in non-joggers. And bone density was almost 8% higher among joggers, compared with men who shunned exercise altogether.

And, it doesn’t take a lot for this to happen. Those that reported jogging 20 or more times per month had similar bone density amounts as those who jogged less than 20 times per month. (Although the study looked only at men, Mussolino told Reuters Health that previous research has suggested the same holds true in women) So, getting on your treadmill, or hitting the road nine or more times a month helps you strengthen your bones.


Note - Information for this article can also be found within the American Journal of Public Health 2001;91:1056-1059.