Influence of exercise and degenerative vertebral changes on BMD: a cross-sectional study in Japanese men

The effects of recreational exercise and milk intake on BMD were assessed in Japanese men using analysis of covariance with significant predictor variables, selected from age, height, body weight and body mass index (BMI), as covariates. The influence of degenerative vertebral changes on these effects was also evaluated. Recreational exercise was found to be positively associated with BMD at the lumbar spine and the femoral neck, whereas milk intake, a possible indicator of calcium intake in the Japanese, was positively associated with BMD at the radius and the lumbar spine. Not only vertebral BMD but also radial and femoral neck BMD was higher in the subjects with osteophytosis or sclerosis in the lumbar vertebrae. Neither exercise nor lumbar pain was significantly related to these vertebral changes. These data suggest a protective effect of regular recreational exercise and milk intake on bone health in Japanese men.