Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Relationship of bone health to yearlong physical activity in older Japanese adults: cross-sectional data from the Nakanojo Study

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Osteoporosis International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

We determined associations between bone health and the quantity and quality of habitual physical activity in a cohort of 172 free-living Japanese aged 65–83 years (76 men, 96 women).

Methods

The number of steps taken and the intensity of physical activity were measured every 4 s throughout each 24-h period for 1 year, using a specially adapted accelerometer that distinguished up to 11 levels of physical activity (expressed in metabolic equivalents, METs). At the end of the year, a quantitative ultrasonic technique assessed each participant’s osteosonic index (OSI, reflecting bone stiffness in the calcaneus).

Results

The data were significantly described by linear and exponential regression models which showed that in both sexes the OSI score increased with increasing daily physical activity, up to the observed maximum values of approximately 14,000 steps/day and 50 min/day at an intensity >3 METs. However, when data were categorized into quartiles of physical activity, OSI scores were not significantly greater in persons exceeding recommended minimum standards of habitual physical activity (corresponding to counts of around 6,900 and 6,800 steps/day and durations >3 METs of around 18 and 16 min/day in men and women, respectively). All who met such criteria (with the exception of a few women) had OSI scores above the threshold for a clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis. Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analyses predicted that men and especially women who engaged in <6,800 steps/day and <16 min/day of moderate-intensity physical activity were, respectively, 4.9–8.4 and 2.2–3.5 times more likely to sustain fractures than those participating in >8,200 steps/day and >25 min/day of activity >3 METs.

Conclusion

Causation cannot be inferred from a cross-sectional study. Nevertheless, we suggest that from the viewpoint of bone health, elderly people should be encouraged to engage in low- and moderate-intensity habitual physical activity, taking >7,000 steps/day with a duration >15 min/day at >3 METs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Greendale GA, Barrett-Connor E, Edelstein S, Ingles S, Haile R (1995) Life-time leisure exercise and osteoporosis. The Rancho Bernardo study. Am J Epidemiol 141:951–959

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Brahm H, Mallmin H, Michaelsson K, Strom H, Ljunghall S (1998) Relationships between bone mass measurements and lifetime physical activity in a Swedish population. Calcif Tissue Int 62:400–412

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Colletti LA, Edwards J, Gordon L, Shary J, Bell NH (1989) The effects of muscle-building exercise on bone mineral density of the radius, spine, and hip in young men. Calcif Tissue Int 45:12–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Snow-Harter C, Whalen R, Myburgh K, Arnaud S, Marcus R (1992) Bone mineral density, muscle strength, and recreational exercise in men. J Bone Miner Res 7:1291–1296

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Need AG, Wishart JM, Scopacasa F, Horowitz M, Morris HA, Nordin BE (1995) Effect of physical activity on femoral bone density in men. BMJ 310:1501–1502

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Cauley JA, Fullman RL, Stone KL, Zmuda JM, Bauer DC, Barrett-Connor E, Ensrud K, Lau EM, Orwoll ES (2005) Factors associated with the lumbar spine and proximal femur bone mineral density in older men. Osteoporos Int 16:1525–1537

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Graafmans WC, Bouter LM, Lips P (1998) The influence of physical activity and fractures on ultrasound parameters in elderly people. Osteoporos Int 8:449–454

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nordstrom P, Nordstrom G, Lorentzon R (1997) Correlation of bone density to strength and physical activity in young men with a low or moderate level of physical activity. Calcif Tissue Int 60:332–337

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mayoux-Benhamou MA, Leyge JF, Roux C, Revel M (1999) Cross-sectional study of weight-bearing activity on proximal femur bone mineral density. Calcif Tissue Int 64:179–183

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Pettersson U, Nordstrom P, Lorentzon R (1999) A comparison of bone mineral density and muscle strength in young male adults with different exercise level. Calcif Tissue Int 64:490–498

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Nguyen TV, Center JR, Eisman JA (2000) Osteoporosis in elderly men and women: effects of dietary calcium, physical activity, and body mass index. J Bone Miner Res 15:322–331

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bennell KL, Malcolm SA, Khan KM, Thomas SA, Reid SJ, Brukner PD, Ebeling PR, Wark JD (1997) Bone mass and bone turnover in power athletes, endurance athletes, and controls: a 12-month longitudinal study. Bone 20:477–484

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Blumenthal JA, Emery CF, Madden DJ, Schniebolk S, Riddle MW, Cobb FR, Higginbotham M, Coleman RE (1991) Effects of exercise training on bone density in older men and women. J Am Geriatr Soc 39:1065–1070

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Kelly PJ, Eisman JA, Sambrook PN (1990) Interaction of genetic and environmental influences on peak bone density. Osteoporos Int 1:56–60

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Jouanny P, Guillemin F, Kuntz C, Jeandel C, Pourel J (1995) Environmental and genetic factors affecting bone mass. Similarity of bone density among members of healthy families. Arthritis Rheum 38:61–67

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Nelson ME, Fisher EC, Dilmanian FA, Dallal GE, Evans WJ (1991) A 1-y walking program and increased dietary calcium in postmenopausal women: effects on bone. Am J Clin Nutr 53:1304–1311

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Kerr D, Morton A, Dick I, Prince R (1996) Exercise effects on bone mass in postmenopausal women are site-specific and load-dependent. J Bone Miner Res 11:218–225

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Taaffe DR, Pruitt L, Pyka G, Guido D, Marcus R (1996) Comparative effects of high- and low-intensity resistance training on thigh muscle strength, fiber area, and tissue composition in elderly women. Clin Physiol 16:381–392

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Bouchard C, Rankinen T (2001) Individual differences in response to regular physical activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33:S446-S451, discussion S52–S53

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. McCartney N, Hicks AL, Martin J, Webber CE (1995) Long-term resistance training in the elderly: effects on dynamic strength, exercise capacity, muscle, and bone. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 50:B97–B104

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Pruitt LA, Taaffe DR, Marcus R (1995) Effects of a one-year high-intensity versus low-intensity resistance training program on bone mineral density in older women. J Bone Miner Res 10:1788–1795

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Shaw JM, Snow CM (1998) Weighted vest exercise improves indices of fall risk in older women. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 53:M53–M58

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Hannan MT, Cheng DM, Green E, Swift C, Rubin CT, Kiel DP (2004) Establishing the compliance in elderly women for use of a low level mechanical stress device in a clinical osteoporosis study. Osteoporos Int 15:918–926

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Rubin C, Recker R, Cullen D, Ryaby J, McCabe J, McLeod K (2004) Prevention of postmenopausal bone loss by a low-magnitude, high-frequency mechanical stimuli: a clinical trial assessing compliance, efficacy, and safety. J Bone Miner Res 19:343–351

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Cress ME, Buchner DM, Prohaska T, Rimmer J, Brown M, Macera C, Loretta D, Chodzko-Zajko W (2004) Physical activity programs and behavior counseling in older adult populations. Med Sci Sports Exerc 36:1997–2003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Medras M, Slowinska-Lisowska M, Jozkow P (2005) Impact of recreational physical activity on bone mineral density in middle-aged men. Aging Male 8:162–165

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Evans EM, Ross KM, Heinrichs KL, McAuley E, Rosengren KS (2005) Ultrasound of the calcaneus and bone mineral density differs in older black and white women but is not impacted by current physical activity. Osteoporos Int 16:1755–1760

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Damilakis J, Perisinakis K, Kontakis G, Vagios E, Gourtsoyiannis N (1999) Effect of lifetime occupational physical activity on indices of bone mineral status in healthy postmenopausal women. Calcif Tissue Int 64:112–116

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Coupland CA, Grainge MJ, Cliffe SJ, Hosking DJ, Chilvers CE (2000) Occupational activity and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women in England. Osteoporos Int 11:310–315

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Pescatello LS, Murphy DM, Anderson D, Costanzo D, Dulipingh L, Ulipsingh, Souza MJD (2002) Daily physical movement and bone mineral density among a mixed racial cohort of women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 34:1966–1970

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Stewart AL, Mills, KM, King, AC, Haskell, WL, Gillis, D, Ritter, PL (2001) CHAMPS physical activity questionnaire for older adults: outcomes for interventions. Med Sci Sports Exerc 33:1126–1141

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Bassett DR Jr, Ainsworth BE, Swartz AM, Strath SJ, O’Brien WL, King GA (2000) Validity of four motion sensors in measuring moderate intensity physical activity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32:S471–S480

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Hoos MB, Kuipers H, Gerver WJ, Westerterp KR (2004) Physical activity pattern of children assessed by triaxial accelerometry. Eur J Clin Nutr 58:1425–1428

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Ichihara Y, Hattori R, Anno T, Okuma K, Yokoi M, Mizuno Y, Iwatsuka T, Ohta T, Kawamura T (1996) Oxygen uptake and its relation to physical activity and other coronary risk factors in asymptomatic middle-aged Japanese. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 16:378–385

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Sequeira MM, Rickenbach M, Wietlisbach V, Tullen B, Schutz Y (1995) Physical activity assessment using a pedometer and its comparison with a questionnaire in a large population survey. Am J Epidemiol 142:989–999

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Kitagawa J, Omasu F, Nakahara Y (2003) Effect of daily walking steps on ultrasound parameters of the calcaneus in elderly Japanese women. Osteoporos Int 14:219–224

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Walsh JT, Charlesworth A, Andrews R, Hawkins M, Cowley AJ (1997) Relation of daily activity levels in patients with chronic heart failure to long-term prognosis. Am J Cardiol 79:1364–1369

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Westerterp KR (2001) Pattern and intensity of physical activity. Nature 410:539

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Togo F, Watanabe E, Park H, Shephard RJ, Aoyagi Y (2005) Meteorology and the physical activity of the elderly: the Nakanojo Study. Int J Biometeorol 50:83–89

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Yasunaga A, Togo F, Watanabe E, Park H, Shephard R, Aoyagi Y (in press) Sex, age, season, and habitual physical activity of older Japanese: the Nakanojo Study. J Aging Phys Act

  41. Pate RR, Pratt M, Blair SN, Haskell WL, Macera CA, Bouchard C, Buchner D, Ettinger W, Heath GW, King AC (1995) Physical activity and public health. A recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine. JAMA 273:402–407

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Tudor-Locke C, Bassett DR Jr (2004) How many steps/day are enough? Preliminary pedometer indices for public health. Sports Med 34:1–8

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Kumahara H, Schutz Y, Ayabe M, Yoshioka M, Yoshitake Y, Shindo M, Ishii K, Tanaka H (2004) The use of uniaxial accelerometry for the assessment of physical-activity-related energy expenditure: a validation study against whole-body indirect calorimetry. Br J Nutr 91:235–243

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Crouter SE, Schneider PL, Karabulut M, Bassett DR Jr (2003) Validity of 10 electronic pedometers for measuring steps, distance, and energy cost. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35:1455–1460

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Schneider PL, Crouter SE, Lukajic O, Bassett DR Jr (2003) Accuracy and reliability of 10 pedometers for measuring steps over a 400-m walk. Med Sci Sports Exerc 35:1779–1784

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Schneider PL, Crouter SE, Bassett DR (2004) Pedometer measures of free-living physical activity: comparison of 13 models. Med Sci Sports Exerc 36:331-335

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Tsuda-Futami E, Hans D, Njeh CF, Fuerst T, Fan B, Li J, He YQ, Genant HK (1999) An evaluation of a new gel-coupled ultrasound device for the quantitative assessment of bone. Br J Radiol 72:691–700

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Cheng S, Njeh CF, Fan B, Cheng X, Hans D, Wang L, Fuerst T, Genant HK (2002) Influence of region of interest and bone size on calcaneal BMD: implications for the accuracy of quantitative ultrasound assessments at the calcaneus. Br J Radiol 75:59–68

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Greenspan SL, Bouxsein ML, Melton ME, Kolodny AH, Clair JH, Delucca PT, Stek M Jr, Faulkner KG, Orwoll ES (1997) Precision and discriminatory ability of calcaneal bone assessment technologies. J Bone Miner Res 12:1303–1313

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Hans D, Dargent-Molina P, Schott AM, Sebert JL, Cormier C, Kotzki PO, Delmas PD, Pouilles JM, Breart G, Meunier PJ (1996) Ultrasonographic heel measurements to predict hip fracture in elderly women: the EPIDOS prospective study. Lancet 348:511–514

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. National Osteoporosis Foundation (1999) Physician’s guide to prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation, Washington, DC

  52. Kanis JA (1994) Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis: synopsis of a WHO report. WHO Study Group. Osteoporos Int 4:368–381

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2003) The national nutrition survey in Japan 2001. Daiichishuppan, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  54. Aoyagi Y, McLellan TM, Shephard RJ (1997) Interactions of physical training and heat acclimation. The thermophysiology of exercising in a hot climate. Sports Med 23:173–210

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Yasunaga A, Togo F, Watanabe E, Park H, Shephard R, Aoyagi Y (2006) Yearlong physical activity and health-related quality of life in older Japanese adults: cross-sectional data from the Nakanojo Study. J Aging Phys Act 14:288–301

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Yoshiuchi K, Nakahara R, Kumano H, Kuboki T, Togo F, Watanabe E, Yasunaga A, Park H, Shephard R, Aoyagi Y (2006) Yearlong physical activity and depressive symptoms in older Japanese adults: cross-sectional data from the Nakanojo study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 14:621–624

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. National Institutes of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Research Center (2005) Bone health and osteoporosis: a guide for Asian women aged 50 and older. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was undertaken as part of the longitudinal interdisciplinary study on the habitual physical activity and health of elderly people living in Nakanojo, Gunma, Japan (the Nakanojo Study). The study was supported in part by a grant (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C): 15500503) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The authors gratefully acknowledge the expert technical assistance of the research and nursing staffs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo, and the Nakanojo Public Health Center. We would also like to thank the subjects whose participation made this investigation possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    H. Park

  2. Exercise Sciences Research Group, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaecho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173–0015, Japan

    H. Park, F. Togo, E. Watanabe, A. Yasunaga, S. Park & Y. Aoyagi

  3. Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    R. J. Shephard

Authors
  1. H. Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. F. Togo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Watanabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. Yasunaga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. S. Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. J. Shephard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Y. Aoyagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Y. Aoyagi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Park, H., Togo, F., Watanabe, E. et al. Relationship of bone health to yearlong physical activity in older Japanese adults: cross-sectional data from the Nakanojo Study. Osteoporos Int 18, 285–293 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-006-0237-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-006-0237-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation