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Teen boys are risking their bone health

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When we think of osteoporosis we normally associate the disease with older people and post-menopausal women. While they do make up the bulk of sufferers, a paper presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Seville, Spain on 5 April 2014 showed that the lifestyles of teenage boys is setting them up for suffering from osteoporosis and bone fractures later in life.

The study, led by Dr. Anne Winther of the Arctic University of Norway, found that spending too much time sitting in front of screens may be linked to poorer bone health in teen boys.

They asked 484 boys and 463 girls, aged 15 to 18, asked about lifestyle habits, including how much time they spent in front of the television or computer on weekends, and their levels of physical activity. They also all underwent bone mineral density tests.

They found that boys spent more time in front of screens than girls and that the more time boys spent in front of a computer and the TV, the lower their bone mineral density throughout the body.

Bone mineral density is a strong predictor of future fracture risk, and a sedentary lifestyle during adolescence can impact on bone mineral density with a negative impact in terms of osteoporosis and fracture risk later in life.

So do your children a favour and limit their time in front of the TV or computer - get them out and participating in physical activities that has been proven to increase bone mineral density.

How to invest in your children's bones
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