Build Stronger Bones: 10 Exercises That Work + The Countries With The Slowest and Fastest Ageing Rates

Avoid Osteoporosis with exercise

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Build Stronger Bones

How you care for your bones early in life can help prevent osteoporosis, a disease of the bones that leads to frailty in later life. You may think you don’t have to worry about this until you’re in older age, but your body reaches peak bone mass between the ages of 25 and 35. If after that you haven’t reached the peak target, the risk is higher for you to develop osteoporosis.

Full-blown osteoporosis is uncommon in women under 50. They are more likely to get osteopenia, a condition marked by lower than average bone mineral density. In this condition, your bones are weaker than they should be, which is a predictor of osteoporosis later on.

A small 2019 study found that 26% of men and women between the ages of 25 and 50 had signs of osteopenia. That number increases significantly to 54% for women post-menopause. Shockingly, by the age of 80, 70% of women have osteoporosis.

The adult human skeleton comprises 206 bones. These include the skull, spine, ribs, arm and leg bones. They are made up of connective tissue reinforced with calcium. Most bones also contain bone marrow, where blood cells are made. The skeleton supports and shapes the body and protects our delicate internal organs, such as the brain, heart and lungs.

Healthy bones need a balanced diet, regular weight-bearing exercises and the right level of hormones. Our bodies are constantly remodelling their skeletons by building up and breaking down bone tissue as required. Each bone is rebuilt from scratch about every decade.

Shockingly, by the age of 80, 70% of women have osteoporosis.

Prevention is Better Than Cure

The old saying, prevention is better than cure is very relevant for bone health. Taking care of your overall health as a young adult puts you at an advantage in older age. Your diet will have included sufficient calcium and vitamin D to feed your bones.

Your bones are made of calcium. When you don’t get enough of it in your diet it will be taken from your cells, nerves and muscles for your bones. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and supports your muscles. Calcium-rich foods include yoghurt, cow’s milk, cheeses, salmon, sardines, tofu, mushrooms, eggs and leafy green vegetables. Fortified milk is another source.

It’s hard to get sufficient vitamin D from food alone. Sunshine is another source. You may need to take a supplement to ensure sufficient levels. Discuss it with your healthcare provider. Cut down, or preferably cut out, smoking and alcohol. Nicotine interferes with bone healing. Alcohol stunts calcium and vitamin D absorption and increases your risk of falling.

Start a regular exercise routine that involves not only weight-bearing exercises, but resistance training and balance and agility work, too, which will help you reduce the risk of falls. If you are suffering with bone issues you may need to find further information from The Royal Osteoporosis Society and consult your medical adviser.

10 Weight-Bearing Exercises To Strengthen Bones

Why Weight-bearing exercises?

You’re weight-bearing when you are standing. The weight of your body pulls down on your bones. Weight-bearing exercises add an extra force or controlled jolt through your skeleton. They work against gravity, putting stress on your bones and stimulating growth. The stress on the skeleton helps to increase bone density and resistance.

The following exercises are low-medium impact.

1. HEEL DROPS

   • Here’s a demonstration video of how to do heel drops.

2. SQUAT JUMPS

   • This video shows how to do squat jumps

3. HOPPING

   • Hopping is self-explanatory. Jump on one leg, maybe holding onto the back of a chair if necessary, then do the same number of hops on the other leg.

4. SKIPPING WITH A ROPE

   • Hold each end of a rope in your hands with the rest of the rope behind you. Swing it over your head, jumping with a double jump when it’s under your feet. You can jump with both feet together, or alternate feet.

5. SKIPPING WITHOUT A ROPE

   • Demonstration video

6. JOGGING ON THE SPOT

   • Standing in the same spot, jog from one foot to the other.

7. DANCING

   • Any dance you like to do that involves moving from one foot to the other.

8. WALKING

   • Especially speed walking, or Japanese walking.

9. STAIR CLIMBING

   • Climb up and down a set of stairs several times. Each lift up presses the weight into the standing leg and then the leg you move onto.

10. WEIGHTLIFTING

    • Before you begin, warm up with stretching and light aerobic exercise. Begin with light weights, progressing over time to heavier ones to challenge yourself as you get stronger.

High Impact exercise involves both feet leaving the ground, as in jumping rope, jumping jacks, tennis, basketball, soccer, some forms of dance, etc.

In our Challenges group here on Life in the Second Half, we did the first of these exercises as a monthly challenge. It’s one I do every day as part of my morning exercise routine, I’m hoping to avoid being one of the 70% of women who get osteoporosis by the time they’re 80. It’s going well so far.

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplashn...

The countries with the slowest and fastest ageing rates.

Where you live has a strong impact on your length of life. I wrote recently about how Japan encourages longer life for its citizens with various healthy components embedded in their lifestyle. A new study published in Nature Magazine identified the factors that shape the biological processes behind how healthily you age.

160,000 people from 60 countries across 4 continents—Africa, Asia, North and South America, took part in the study. The researchers found that European people have the highest levels of healthy aging.

Denmark had the best overall conditions for a healthier lifestyle that slows ageing. Next came the Netherlands and Finland. The fastest agers were in Egypt, followed by South Africa, and countries in South America. The eastern and southern regions of Europe experienced faster ageing.

What did the countries with slower ageing conditions have that the faster ageing ones didn’t? Good air quality, gender equality, and socioeconomic status, as well as sociopolitical factors. The latter meant countries where people felt their politicians acted in their best interests, and where they had democratic elections and the right to vote.

Dr Morten Sheibye-Knudsen, Associate Professor of Ageing at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, stated in a BBC interview, “This study is important because it redefines ageing as a product not only of biology and lifestyle but also of broader environmental and sociopolitical forces - highlighting that where and how people live can significantly speed up or delay ageing.”

The professor also said, “Why politics appear to accelerate ageing is a considerable and intriguing mystery in this study. Mechanisms such as chronic elevated stress responses due to insecurity and healthcare disparities could perhaps be involved in this response.”

He made the observation that people in lower-income countries showed significantly accelerating ageing regardless of their own socioeconomic status. This provides a “strong argument for investing in universal solutions, such as universal education and healthcare to maintain population health.”

Disclaimer: The content of my posts is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical, physical, psychological, health, or wellness advice. Do not make decisions based on this content alone. Always consult a qualified health professional. What I share here is meant to provide information to help you explore what’s right for you.

DISCUSSION

Do you live in one of the countries that slows ageing, or speeds it up?

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