Middle aged men should exercise to reverse age related bone loss, cut risk of decrease osteoporosis, finds a new study.

University of Missouri researchers have found that certain types of weight-lifting and jumping exercises, when completed for at least six months, improve bone density in active, healthy, middle-aged men with low bone mass. These exercises may help prevent osteoporosis by facilitating bone growth.

Associate professor Pam Hinton said that their study was the first to show that exercise-based interventions work to increase bone density in middle-aged men with low bone mass who are otherwise healthy.Hinton said the study results did not indicate that all kinds of weight lifting will help improve bone mass; rather, targeted exercises made the training programs effective.

Throughout their training programs, participants rated pain and fatigue after completing their exercises. The participants reported minimal pain and fatigue, and these ratings decreased over the year. Hinton said individuals who want to use similar training programs to improve bone density should consider their current activity levels and exercise preferences as well as time and equipment constraints.

The study is published in Bone.