Yard Work - Good for the Bones, Too

You've gotten the message that a calcium-rich diet is important for building strong bones, but have you heard that gardening and yard work are also good for bone strength?

Researchers from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville found that women 50 years and older who actively worked in their yards showed higher bone density readings than those who performed other types of exercise, such as swimming, aerobics, dancing and jogging.

Gardening and yard work, as it turns out, fit into the category of weight-bearing exercise, which has already been documented to help maintain bone strength and protect against osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease that affects more than 25 million people, 80 percent of whom are women.

"We hadn't expected yard work to be significant," says Lori Turner, lead researcher and assistant professor of health sciences at the University of Arkansas. "It's taken for such a dainty activity. But there's a lot of weight-bearing motion going on in the garden - digging holes, pulling weeds, pushing a mower."

Love to garden

The study adds another weapon that women can use in the fight against osteoporosis. Given a choice, many older women, in fact, may prefer weeding a rose garden to pumping iron in a gym.

"The best thing about yard work is that so many people are willing to do it. They don't dread it as exercise," Turner says. "People have other motivations for gardening. They take pride in a beautiful yard and pleasure in being outdoors. They'll probably continue to do it as long as they're able."

More than half of the women in Turner's study showed low-bone density. All were 50 and older. Turner examined how often the women performed different activities, including yard work, calisthenics, bicycling, dancing, aerobics, swimming, jogging, walking and weight training.

Turner compared each activity to bone mass, finding that bicycling, aerobics, dancing, yard work and weight training were linked to a higher level of mineral density. The researchers then performed a statistical assessment that examined each activity independently, ensuring that no two activities overlapped. The results indicated only two activities were significant for maintaining healthy bone mass - yard work and weight training.

Of all the activities assessed, yard work proved the most popular, with nearly half of the women claiming to garden at least once a week. Because women enjoy it, gardening is a highly effective preventative measure.

An added plus of yard work is that it is performed outdoors, Turner says. Exposure to sunlight boosts vitamin D production, which aids the body in calcium absorption.

Exercises that help your bones

A survey by the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) showed that few Americans actually understand what types of exercise benefit bones. The survey found that almost half of all adults erroneously believed that weight-bearing exercises require the use of weight-training equipment. Although strength training with weights is beneficial for bones, everyday activities are weight-bearing and can be incorporated easily into your daily routine.

"The fact is all of us at every age need to make weight-bearing activities, like walking, dancing and playing tennis, part of our lifestyle to keep our bones healthy," says Sandra C. Raymond, executive director of the NOF.

The NOF survey found that only one-third of Americans engage in weight-bearing exercise for at least 30 minutes, four or more times a week, which helps to maintain bone strength and mass. Furthermore, when asked to identify from a list of activities all that are important to bone health, only 8 percent of respondents could correctly identify both dancing and walking as important but correctly said swimming was not important to bone health.

Swimming and bicycling are excellent cardiovascular exercises. However, they do not have an impact on bones. The NOF gives these examples of weight-bearing exercise:

The NOF also suggests these simple steps to add weight-bearing exercise to your daily routine. Remember to consult your physician before starting any exercise program:

• Walk your dog (or borrow a neighbor's) for 30 minutes (or twice a day for 15 minutes).
• Start a walking club during lunch hour with friends from work.
• Take the steps or walk up the escalators at your office, in the mall, at the subway or whenever possible.
• Do 30 minutes of housework and/or gardening four times a week. Not only will your house and yard be beautiful but you'll look and feel great, too.