Football beats running for improving vital bone density
Women also reap the benefits of playing the national game, which offers better health benefits than running.
Training for just one hour twice a week showed dramatic improvements in bone density for women and elderly men in tests conducted by researchers from the University of Copenhagen.
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Hide AdA 14-week study of women aged 20 to 47 showed increased shin bone strength in participants.
Researchers also studied a group of men aged from 65 to 75 who had played football all their lives. They had better balance and muscle density than 30-year-old men who never played football.
Associate Professor Peter Krustrup, who led the study, said: "
During soccer training and games, the players perform many sprints, turns, kicks and tackles. This combination of actions help achieve a variable bone impact that provides a better stimulus to bone mineralisation than running."