VANCOUVER, Jan 16: Drinking milk is not the only way to encourage the growth of healthy bones in young children whose parents should make sure they get proper exercise during the vital two-year growth period before puberty, a Canadian study shows.

Effort at this stage can dramatically increase childrens’ bone strength in later life, said the researchers.

Children undergo the greatest increase in bone mineral after the pre-pubescent growth spurt.

Youngsters put on over a quarter of their bone mass during this period, researchers led by Heather McKay at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found.

In girls, the vital time tended to be between age 10 and 12, and in boys between 13 and 15.

McKay’s team has found that even small interventions during the period can make a big difference.

Half a group of 383 children were asked to do a 10-minute circuit training programme three times a week which included skipping, box jumps, side-to-side jumps, and other high-impact exercises.

The other children spent the same amount of time doing stretches and warm ups.—dpa