Bone mass and structure are enhanced following a 2-year randomized controlled trial of exercise in prepubertal boys

Abstract

Exercise during growth has a positive influence on bone mineral accrual, yet little is known about how bone geometry and strength adapt to loading during growth. Our primary objective was to compare changes in proximal femur bone geometry and strength between 31 prepubertal (Tanner Stage 1) boys who participated in a school-based, high-impact circuit intervention (12 min, three times a week) for 20 months and 33 maturity-matched controls. Our secondary objective was to compare changes in total body (TB), proximal femur (PF), and lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral content (BMC) and bone area (BA) in these groups. We assessed geometric variables and bone strength at the narrow neck (NN), intertroc..