Make no ‘bones’ about it

CHENNAI: Our bones and joints provide the basic support structure for our body playing a vital role in protecting our organs, maintaining our muscles, and storing calcium.

It goes without saying that bone care is essential for our bodies. Parents are often concerned about their child’s physical and mental well-being and while doing so, they obviously would not like to miss out on building the bone health of their child.

Doctors say that child’s bones expand to become stronger during childhood and adolescence intensifying bone density rapidly during this time. Once your child attains adulthood ie, the age group of 18-25, he/she achieves “peak bone mass” and their bone density stops developing as 90 per cent of their bone mass is already developed. Thus, it becomes imperative for parents to include healthy and nutritious foods in their child’s diet.

“Weak bones not only increase the risk of injuries and fractures but also lead to diseases like osteoporosis and rickets in children at an early age. Encouraging your child to adopt a healthy lifestyle and ensuring that their body gets all the vital nutrients that can help them in maintaining healthy and hearty bone health,” said Dr Sagar Bhattad, Consultant of Paediatric Immunology - Rheumatology.

The doctor shared with DTNext some essential tips that can help in maintaining good bone health for children.

Increase your Vitamin D intake

As per Dr Sagar, Vitamin D improves bone health as it helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamin D deficiency is quite common among both youngsters and adults. Several studies have highlighted how low vitamin D levels lead to lower bone density and increase the risk of bone loss. Hence, an abundance of Vitamin D can protect your child from bone-related diseases.

There are several easy steps through which you can increase your vitamin D intake -

Increased exposure to sunlight apart from ensuring that the child gets at least 5 to 10 minutes of sunshine for two to three days a week on exposed body parts such as the hands, legs, and face.

Encourage the child to consume food supplements like cheese, liver, and fatty fish. To make it interesting for the kids, these supplements can be used in sandwiches and pasta so that the vitamin absorption happens joyfully.

Ensure your child gets enough calcium

It is common knowledge that calcium plays an important role in bone formation and is vital for strengthening muscles and maintaining heart health. Dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurt are powerhouses of calcium. As parents, one must ensure that their child consumes at least 2 glasses of milk daily, which is essential for their bone development. Additionally, inclusion of a bowl of curd/yoghurt in the child’s meal at least once a day certainly helps. Their diet should also include green vegetables such as spinach, kale and okra.

Apart from providing Vitamin C, orange is also known as a good source of calcium and is a tastier way to increase the calcium intake in a child. Other common sources of calcium are soybeans and its products like soy milk, soy yoghurt and fish.

Vitamin K and Magnesium for proper bone density

It is found that people with higher amounts of Vitamin K and Magnesium have healthy bone density and are less susceptible to bone diseases like rickets and osteoporosis.

These vitamins work with calcium to make a child’s bones grow stronger. Green vegetables like spinach, kale, cabbage, and green sprouts are also good sources of Vitamin K and Magnesium. Therefore instilling a habit of eating cereals and a hearty breakfast in the child at an early age does not only keep them healthy but also helps them get all the required amount of magnesium and other nutrients.

Encourage your child to skip the automated life for a healthier future

In the digital age today, everything is accessible with a press of a button on our phones. As more and more children are getting addicted to mobile phones and computer games, they are now increasingly confined to their couches than ever before and tend to avoid physical interactions with their friends. Such habits are increasing the burden of bone diseases among children and have heightened the need for physical activity for them.

Activities like walking, jogging, running, and climbing staircases can help a child in building stronger bones and are essential for keeping their mind and body active. These exercises can help the body in stimulating the growth of bone cells.

Finally, a word of caution: if your child continues to face any severe bone ailments and shows signs that do not seem to go away after several days/weeks, then it is better to consult the doctor.