Musculoskeletal Benefits from a Physical Activity Program in Primary School are Retained 4 Years after the Program is...

Daily school physical activity (PA) improves musculoskeletal traits. This study evaluates whether the benefits remain 4 years after the intervention. We followed 45 boys and 36 girls who had had 40 min PA/school day during the nine compulsory school years and 21 boys and 22 girls who had had 60 min PA/school week (reference), with measurements at baseline and 4 years after the program terminated. Bone mineral content (BMC; g) and bone mineral density (BMD; g/cm²) were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and knee flexion peak torque relative to total body weight (PT_flexTBW) at a speed of 180 degrees/second with a computerized dynamometer. Group differences are presented as mean differences (adjusted for sex and duration of follow-up period) with 95% confidence intervals. The total gain bone mass [mean difference in spine BMC +32.0 g (14.6, 49.4) and in arms BMD of +0.06 g/cm² (0.02, 0.09)] and gain in muscle strength [mean difference in PT_flex180TBW +12.1 (2.0, 22.2)] were greater in the intervention than in the control group. There are still 4 years after the intervention indications of benefits in both bone mass and muscle strength gain. Daily school PA may counteract low bone mass and inferior muscle strength in adult life. ClinicalTrials.gov.NCT000633828 retrospectively registered 2008-11-03.