Giving your children the best bones for life.
By the age of 20 our children have acquired their full amount of bone tissue (their bone mineral) as they hit their full skeleton. This is called our peak bone mass and this reflects the bone mass and strength achieved at the end of the growth period. The better the bone tissue they develop the stronger the bone.
Making sure your child is maximising as much peak bone mass as possible will likely offset future development of osteoporosis and bone fragility.
2 ways to optimise skeletal health:
1. Encourage multisport participation at a young age.
High impact and multidirectional loading results in greater bone mass and improved bone geometry.
Current literature suggests non-impact and repetitive impact sports can lead children to being more at risk of lower bone density for example running, cycling and swimming.
It has been recommended to avoid early single sport specialisation. Good sports to partake in include basketball, football, and netball to name but a few.
2. The concept of having a low BMI as being beneficial in some sport can predispose to other risk factors. For example it may predispose the individual to low bone mineral density, increased risk for bone stress injury and menstrual dysfunction in the female population. Therefore it is important to optimise nutrition including calorific intake, calcium and vitamin D.
It is imperative that children have enough proper nutrition to maintain adequate energy intake and overall health.
Source:
Optimising bone health in the young male athlete – Br J Sports Med published online December 21, 2016