You have not yet registered your youngest for a sports activity for the start of the school year? Think football: according to a new study coordinated by the University of Exeter (in England), this sport would allow better bone development in children, compared to swimming and cycling.
To come to this conclusion, the researchers worked with a group of 116 British boys, aged 12 to 14, playing several different sports, including football, swimming, cycling … and the complete absence of sports. ‘physical activity. Scientists regularly recorded the bone density of young volunteers in order to compare the benefits of different sports activities.
While, unsurprisingly, children who did not participate in any sport had relatively low bone density, those who played soccer had stronger bones overall than those who participated in swimming or cycling. The difference was particularly clear in terms of the density of the spine (+ 7% density for footballers) and the neck of the femur (+ 5% density for footballers).
Prevent osteoporosis from adolescence
“Adolescence (and, in particular, the 5 years after puberty) is a very important period for bone growth: while diet plays a big role in this area, sports activity can also help, explains Dimitris. Vlachopoulos, main author of this work, published in the specialized journal Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. This is to avoid certain health problems in adulthood, such as osteoporosis. “
If Choupinet doesn’t like football, don’t panic: according to British researchers, it also works with basketball, handball, tennis and badminton. And, of course, it also works for little girls … #stopausexism
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