Activities to Strengthen Adolescent Bones

As our kids become teens, activity is critical to proper development. Here are some activities that strengthen bones in our youth.

Strengthen the Bones and help them grow

We all want strong bones, but did you know that exercise that strengthens bones also helps them to grow, during the development years?

We all know that 60 minutes of exercise each day improves cardiovascular health and maintains healthy weight (or helps). Interestingly, it also improves bone health, self confidence and social skills.

Activities that improve bone health

Man activity will improve bone health (over being sedentary), but activities requiring some level of impact or exertion have demonstrated enhanced benefit. These include activities where youth train like:

• weight training

• aerobics

• gymnastics

• running

• soccer

• football

• tennis

• hockey

• martial arts

Skeletal Mass

According to PubMed.org, "Skeletal mass approximately doubles at the end of adolescence." The key factors in determining bone mass are sex steroids, growth hormone, vitamin D, and muscle mass.

You need to understand the correlation here. Muscle mass impacts bone growth. More muscle, larger, stronger bones.

Keep those kids active. As they grow, it will increase bone growth and protect them from problems in later life.