Exercise, sleep best for bone health

ADELAIDE: Childhood bone health is best supported with 90 minutes of exercise each day along with more than three hours of other light physical activity, a new study has found.

The University of South Australia research, involving children aged 1113, also showed a need for adequate sleep.

Lead researcher Dot Dumuid said the findings provided valuable insights for parents, caregivers and clinicians.

‘‘Children’s activities throughout the whole 24hour day are important for their bone health but until now we haven’t known the perfect combination of exercise, sleep and sedentary time.’’

The study of 804 children found the best balance of daily activity was 1.5 hours of moderate physical exercise, such as sports or play, 3.4 hours of light physical activity, (walking or chores), 8.2 hours of sedentary time, including studying and reading, and 10.9 hours of sleep.

It found boys needed an extra 2.4 hours sleep each night than girls to ensure best bone health. — AAP