Abstract
Background. The incidence of osteoporotic fractures is increasing and has become one of the
major health problems in developed countries. Physical exercise has been found to
be effective in the prevention of osteoporosis. However, the optimal amount of exercise
is not known. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the intensity
of physical activity and bone mineral density at the proximal femur, using long-term
quantification of daily physical activity.
Methods. The study subjects were 64 women (age 35–40 years), who carried an accelerometer-based
body movement recorder for 12 months for individual quantification of their daily
physical activity. The average distribution of daily accelerations was defined using
33 acceleration levels.
Findings. A significant relationship between physical activity data and proximal femur bone
mineral density was found. Physical activity that induced acceleration levels exceeding
3.6 g correlated positively with the bone mineral density change at the proximal femur,
the association being strongest at the femoral neck at 5.7 g (r = 0.416, P = 0.001).
Interpretation. The association between physical activity and changes in proximal femur bone mineral
density was dependent on the acceleration level of exercise. The quantity and quality
of exercise can be monitored with the accelerometer-based physical activity monitor,
and the method might be used for optimizing exercise for prevention of osteoporosis.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 21, 2005
Accepted:
October 6,
2005
Received:
September 28,
2005
Footnotes
☆The study was presented in part at the European Society of Biomechanics Conference in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, in July 7, 2004.
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
