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December 8, 2003 Jumping Exercises Increased Bone Mass in Elementary School Girls Noting that the roots of adult osteoporosis are laid in childhood, researchers reporting in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics tried to determine if weight-bearing exercise by girls in elementary school would increase their bone mineral content and bone area, thereby reducing the possibility of later bone loss. The researchers gave 10-year-old girls in two Canadian schools a program of jumping exercises for 10 minutes a day three days a week, over two school years. They found gains of as much as 5 percent in bone mineral content, which the researchers note is the equivalent of three to five years of postmenopausal bone loss. Details of the exercise program and its results are available from mckayh@interchange.ubc.ca. |