Osteoporosis affects more than 2 million men in the United States, and nearly 12 million have osteopenia. Because loss of bone mass occurs with aging, maximizing peak bone mass has been recommended as the most effective way to prevent osteoporosis.
Pamela Hinton, PhD conducted a cross-sectional study to determine if bone loading during adolescence (ages 13–18 years) or young adulthood (ages 19–29 years) in men is associated with greater bone mineral density (BMD) and reduced risk of low bone density in adulthood. With lead author, Robert S. Rogers, MA, they also sought to determine if participation in high-impact activities (ie, those that produce a ground reaction force [GRF] > 4 times the individual’s body weight] during adolescence and/or young adulthood has a lasting positive effect on adult BMD.
Eighty-six physically active men (aged 30–60 years) participated in this study. Whole body, lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck BMD were assessed using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Participants were grouped based on participation in high-impact activity (never [n = 42], adolescence only [n = 19], or both adolescence and young adulthood [n = 23]), and BMDs were compared. It was determined that bone loading during young adulthood, but not adolescence, was a significant positive predictor of adult BMD, with the full models explaining 33.4%, 31.7%, 44.6%, and 50.6% of the variance in whole body, lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck BMD, respectively. Ten participants (11.6%) had low bone density for age based on z scores of the hip or spine. Body weight and lean body mass, but not bone loading, were found to be associated with reduced risk of low bone density for age. Individuals who participated in high-impact activity during both adolescence and young adulthood had greater BMD at all measured sites compared with those participated only during adolescence. The results of the study support a lifelong exercise prescription for bone health to preserve the skeletal benefits of activity derived from activity during adolescence and young adulthood.
Full text is available at www.physsportsmed.com