Philippine Nurse | 2008 Nursing Board Exam Results NLE

Exercise in any form - mild, moderate or intense - is good for you and can help reduce the risk of disease and keep the heart healthy.

But when it comes to strengthening bones, milder forms of activity may not be enough.

Thirty-eight men and 46 women, ages 55 to 75 years, all of whom were generally healthy but didn’t exercise regularly, were recruited to help determine the link between physical activity and bone strength.

Researchers concluded that neither overall aerobic fitness nor mild physical activity had a significant effect on bone density. Greater muscle strength, however, was associated with stronger bones.

"Although some activity may be better than none at all for certain aspects of health, like heart health, milder forms of activity may not be sufficient to hold off or attenuate the age-related decline in bone," says lead researcher Dr. Kerry J. Stewart of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.