A 2-year School-based Exercise Programme in Pre-pubertal Boys Induces Skeletal Benefits in Lumbar Spine

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate if a general school-based exercise intervention programme in pre-pubertal boys would render site-specific benefits in bone mineral accrual and gain in femoral neck structure.

Methods: Eighty boys aged 7-9 years were included in a curriculum-based exercise intervention programme comprising 40 min of general physical activity per school day (200 min/week) for 2 years. Fifty-seven age-matched boys, assigned to the general Swedish school curriculum of 60 min/week, served as controls. Bone mineral content was measured with dual X-ray absorptiometry of the total body, the third lumbar vertebra and hip. Specific software, the hip structural analyses, evaluated the structural properties of the femoral neck. Annual changes were compared. The level of physical activity was estimated through questionnaires and accelerometers.

Results: The mean annual bone mineral content gain in third lumbar vertebra was 3.0 percentage points (p < 0.01) and in width 1.3 percentage points (p < 0.01) greater in the intervention than in the control group. The weekly duration of exercise estimated through the questionnaire correlated with gain in bone mineral content in third lumbar vertebra (r = 0.25, p = 0.005) and vertebra width (r = 0.20, p = 0.02).

Conclusion: A school-based exercise intervention programme in pre-pubertal boys enhances the skeletal benefits at lumbar spine.