Jogging May Strengthen Bones

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A weekly jog around the park may not put an individual into the same league as Michael Johnson or other Olympic runners, but it may help keep bones healthy, new study findings suggest.

``This finding may have public health significance, since thigh bone mineral density is a strong predictor of hip fracture, which is the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis from a public health standpoint,'' according to Michael E. Mussolino, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his colleagues.

Mussolino's study included more than 4,000 black, white and Mexican-American males who were participating in the federally funded National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. More than 900 men reported jogging at least once a month, while 3,300 men said they did not jog.

Overall, the authors found that the joggers tended to weigh less, have fewer chronic health problems, to be nonsmokers, and enjoy better overall health than their nonjogging peers.

In addition, average bone mineral density in the thigh was 5% higher in joggers than in nonjoggers. And bone density was almost 8% higher among joggers, compared with men who shunned exercise altogether, according to a report in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health: Journal of the American Public Health Association.

The findings also suggest that intensive, daily jogging is not required to receive bone benefits. Even men who jogged just once a month had higher bone mineral density than nonjoggers, according to the report. Those who jogged nine or more times a month, however, showed the greatest bone density.

Yet the benefits of jogging do appear to hit a plateau, the report indicates. Men who reported jogging more than 20 times a month had bone density similar to that of less frequent joggers. This, the authors note, suggests ``there may be a ceiling...beyond which no further benefit occurs.''

In other findings, joggers also reported more leisure-time and weight-bearing activities. Still, bone mineral density remained higher among joggers after the authors took these factors into consideration.

Although the study looked only at men, Mussolino told Reuters Health that previous research has suggested the same holds true in women-although, he said, they should be careful not to jog so much that they have menstrual irregularities, which can contribute to bone loss.

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health 2001;91:1056-1059.

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