For Stronger Bones And Good Health At 70, Play Football: New Study Finds

Elderly with prediabetes can have stronger bones from playing football

Involving yourself in sports benefits you in many ways. Not only does it make for the daily physical requirement of the body, it also reduces stress, increases productivity and boosts confidence. But what's more is that playing a sport like football can boost heart and bone health. A new study has found that including football in your regime regularly can improve heart and bone health in untrained middle-aged and elderly people. The study was conducted by researchers from University of Southern Denmark and the University of the Faroe Islands. It was found that football has positive effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health. People with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes have been found to have higher prevalence of bone fractures and osteopenia. It is thus essential to have some treatment protocols or preventive measures for them.

Elderly with prediabetes can benefit from playing football
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Also read: 5 Pre-Diabetes Symptoms You Must Know

Results of the study showed that playing some football and some dietary guidance can be effective for improving bone health. For evaluation, DXA scans were used to evaluate the initial bone health of participants, reports PTI. The measurements showed that before beginning to play football, 73% participants were diagnosed with femoral osteopenia and 24% with femoral osteoporosis.

Physical training was done for 16 weeks. On the completion of these 16 weeks, changes were found in favour of football in between groups. These changes were observed in bone mineral content of femoral neck and femoral shaft.

Playing sports like football can help elderly with prediabetes have stronger bones
Photo Credit: iStock

Also read: 7 Best Protein-Rich Foods For Stronger Bones

Men and women aged between 55-70 years of age participating in the study were found to have poor bone health, poor aerobic fitness and poor metabolic fitness. The combination of football training and dietary changes bought good results in all parameters.

Playing football at the age of 60 or 70 isn't something that is too common. People tend to have poor bone health and low physical capacity at this age. But the results of this study were found to have promising training effects. People participated in the study quite encouragingly, even though the sport was supposed to be played outdoors in winter time. 

Also read: Dairy Plus These 5 Foods Are Your Key To Stronger Bones