If you have exercised regularly as a child and young adult, you have helped maximise your bone production! If you continue to exercise during the middle ages post 35 and beyond, you probably have reduced the risk of osteoporosis. While people with osteoporosis may believe their bones are too brittle to risk exercising, the truth is a regular scientifically designed workout program can help strengthen bones and muscles, improve coordination and balance and make you more flexible to move gracefully as you age. 

The best exercises to build and maintain bone density are weight bearing and muscle strengthening exercises. Any activity that works on your bones and muscles against gravity is called a weight bearing exercise – for example walking that makes you stand upright against gravity. In that sense, while swimming and cycling are good forms of aerobic exercises, they are not weight bearing and so don’t directly contribute to bone health. The best way to build muscles is by lifting weights – using elastic bands, free weights or weight machines. Performing strength training exercises 2 to 3 days a week is mandatory for both men and women. Aerobic exercises are not enough to keep you healthy! You need strength and balance training to maintain bone and muscle mass and prevent losing balance.

While our concern as adults is to recover lost grounds in terms of our personal health and exercise regime, it is also important to focus on the next generation and build a firm foundation of healthy bones and muscles in children. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Strength and Conditioning association (NSCA) recommend that prepubescent children (about 7 to 13 years of age) can safely engage in strength training with very specific guidelines and limitations (see box). But as they lack the androgens (testosterone and androsterone), the program has to be very specifically and scientifically designed to prevent injury. In fact, a proper guided exercise program is safer than many other sports and activities. There is enough and more evidence that beginning a structured exercise routine in children from the age of 7 can help build a healthier child marching robust into adulthood. By increasing the child’s awareness on health and teaching him to respect his body, we can also inculcate good and healthy habits that prevent the child from abuses and indulgences. Let us build a healthy world!

Written by Gita Krishna Raj  |  Published in Food & Health in November 2015