REVEALED: HOW TO KEEP YOUR BONES YOUNG

As we age, our bones become less dense, which can ultimately lead to them becoming weak and more prone to fractures — and a broken hip is a known risk factor for premature death.

It is thought that exercise helps keep our bones strong by putting them under stress and subjecting them to jolts and shocks. each jolt is thought to send signals to bone cells that trigger them to grow back stronger. Bone also responds to local muscle, which can give more bone-building benefits.

so which exercise is best? You might be surprised by what the research suggests.

In a study at Leeds Beckett University, the bone health of elite male and female athletes from the worlds of gymnastics, cricket and cycling were compared.

each had a DeXA scan to measure bone density in the hips and spine, two common problem areas for fractures in older people. The results were compared with the average bone density for people of the participants’ age and gender.

As expected, the gymnasts had stronger bones than average (thanks to the repeated impact of jumping and landing).

But the results for cyclists and cricketers were surprising. Cyclists were found to have less dense bones at the spine and hips than average (because their weight is supported by their bikes), and cricketers had the most dense bones of the three groups.

Although there is a popular perception of cricketers standing still most of the time, the results suggest that the brief explosive activity (running, jumping and twisting) in the sport is most beneficial to bone density.

Don’t assume swimming and cycling are enough to protect your bone health — our bodies are designed to respond positively to the stress of exercise. Build up your impact gradually to avoid injuries, but you want to do things that will force your skeleton to bear large loads and to respond to jarring shocks, such as aerobics, dancing, hiking, jogging, rope skipping, stair climbing and tennis.