The Winning Edge 2008
Sports Nutrition Conference

The BEST Exercise Program for Osteoporosis Prevention

Jump In

Exercise and Bone Development of Young Girls, also known as "Jump In," is designed to prospectively assess the effects of weight-bearing exercise on strength and bone macro-architectural structure (mass, density, thickness and shape) in pre-pubertal and pubertal girls after one and two years of intervention.

Jump In is based on the following assertions: (1) osteoporosis is a major public health problem; (2) osteoporosis is in part, a pediatric disorder manifested in old age; (3) both bone mass and structural geometry are important determinants of bone strength and fracture risk; (4) achieving a high peak bone mass early in life predicts a higher bone mass and greater fracture protection later in life; (5) the mechanical environment (i.e. exercise) is the major determinant of bone structural strength; (6) children and adolescents have the ability to modify structural geometry, and (7) the pre-pubertal and peri-pubertal years may present a window of opportunity for bone structural adaptations to exercise that are maintained into adulthood.

For More Information Contact:
Dr. Scott Going
University of Arizona
(520) 626-2639
going@u.arizona.edu