Weight training, walking, hiking, jogging for 12 months may increase the particular hormone associated with bone growth, promoting bone formation, increasing bone density.

According to researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia in the US, long-term, weight-bearing exercises decrease sclerostin, a protein made in the bone, in men and increase IGF-1, a hormone associated with bone growth an and prevent osteoporosis. The study was published in the journal of Bone.

“People may be physically active and many times people know they need to exercise to prevent obesity, heart disease or diabetes,” said Pamela Hinton, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. "However, you also really need to do specific exercises to protect your bone health,” Hinton added. They analysed 25 to 60-years-old men, who had low-bone mass and were split into two groups. One group performed resistance training exercises such as lunges and squats using free weights.

The other group performed various types of jumps, such as single-leg and double-leg jumps. After 12 months of performing the exercises, the team then compared the levels of bone proteins and hormones in the blood. The researchers noticed a decrease in the level of sclerostin in both of these exercise interventions in men. "When sclerostin is expressed at high levels, it has a negative impact on bone formation. In both resistance and jump training, the level of sclerostin in the bone goes down, which triggers bone formation,” Hinton explained. To increase bone mass and prevent osteoporosis, Hinton recommended that exercising specifically to target bone health.