Just a minute s running daily may boost bone health

London July 18 (IANS) Want to improve your bone health? Running -- a high-intensity and weight-bearing physical activity -- for just one to two minutes each day may help you new research shows.

The findings showed that women who on an average did 60-120 seconds of running per day had four per cent better bone health than those who did less than a minute while those who ran for more than two minutes a day had six per cent better bone health.

"We don t yet know whether it s better to accumulate this small amount of exercise in bits throughout each day or all at once and also whether a slightly longer bout of exercise on one or two days per week is just as good as 1-2 minutes a day " said lead author Victoria Stiles from the University of Exeter.

But the research published in the International Journal of Epidemiology showed a clear link between this kind of high-intensity weight-bearing exercise and better bone health in women.

"It seems likely that just 1-2 minutes of running a day is good for bone health " Stiles said.

Good bone health has multiple health benefits including a reduced risk of bone diseases like osteoporosis and fractures in old age.

For the study the team looked at data on more than 2 500 women and compared activity levels (measured by wrist-worn monitors) with bone health (measured by an ultrasound scan of heel bone).

For people interested in increasing their day-to-day levels of activity Stiles recommended increasing walking activity first.

"Further on we would suggest adding a few running steps to the walk a bit like you might if you were running to catch a bus " Stiles noted.

--IANS
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