A minute of running during the day is enough to boost women’s bone health, a study suggests.
Researchers found women who spent 60 to 120 seconds a day doing “high-intensity, weight-bearing activity” had 4 per cent better bone health than those who did less.
A medium-paced run for pre-menopausal women or a slow jog for post-menopausal women would be enough. Those who did more than two minutes had 6 per cent better bone health.
Scientists from Exeter and Leicester universities used data from the UK Biobank on more than 2,500 women who wore wrist monitors for a week. They categorised every second of activity and did ultrasound scans of heel bones.
“We don’t know whether it’s better to accumulate this exercise in bits throughout each day or all at once and whether a slightly longer bout of exercise one or two days per week is just as good as one to two minutes a day,” said Dr Victoria Stiles, the lead author. “But there’s a clear link.”
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They could not be sure whether high-intensity activity led to better bones or whether those with better bones did more exercise. “However, it seems likely that just one to two minutes of running a day is good for bone health.”
The paper is published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.