An orthopedic surgeon says the body can only absorb calcium until the age of 35.
By Donna M. Perry
Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Middle schoolers danced, walked, kicked, jumped up and down, and breathed deeply. As they exerted themselves physically, they increased their bone density – something they learned Wednesday that they’ll need when they get older.

Dr. Nancy Cummings, an orthopedic surgeon in Farmington, stressed to seventh- and eighth-graders the importance of eating healthy, getting enough calcium and keeping physically active to increase their bone density.

“You can accumulate bone density up until you’re 20, after that it slows down and, at age 35, the doors shut,” Cummings said. “You can maintain the calcium you have,” she said, but you cannot increase it after age 35.

She asked students to stand and jump four times. When they were done, she told them, they had increased their bone density.

Bone is needed for mobility, to protect organs, such as the heart, and to act as a calcium bank, Cummings said. Doctors can fix the fractures, she said, but cannot fix the underlying osteoporosis, a disease in which the bones become extremely porous.

“Calcium is extremely important to life,” Cummings said. “Without it, the heart can’t beat.”

Keeping active

She also stressed their need for physical activity, rather than watching television, playing video and computer games and spending time on the computer.

By the time an average American child reaches age 70, Cummings said, he or she has watched the equivalent of 10 years of TV. Each year, students spend an average of 900 hours in school and an average of 1,023 hours watching television.

Only 10 percent of girls ages 9 to 17 get enough calcium, she said. And only 20 percent of boys in the same age level get enough calcium.

She encouraged students to drink three glasses of milk a day, if they can tolerate it. There are a lot of flavors of milk, including chocolate and strawberry, as well as low-fat milk available to give students the necessary calcium, she noted.

Among other products available to help them consume enough calcium are calcium chews that taste like caramels and yogurt.

“You’re in control of your density,” Cummings said.

Milk in the machines?

Middle School Principal Gary Oswald told students he is working on getting vending machines containing milk cartons and yogurt for the school. The High School is also looking into it, he said.

Wednesday’s health program was part of an worldwide effort for students and teachers to join together to exercise and promote the benefits of living a healthy, active lifestyle. Members of the local Healthy Community Coalition helped organize the sessions as part of a program called All Children Exercising Simultaneously. It also included sessions on kickboxing, yoga, jazz, hip-hop dancing and manipulating your heartbeat.

After student Rose Lam finished a yoga session with Amelia McKenney, she said, she learned a lot about breathing.

“She taught us to breathe with the lower part of our lungs and breathe in different positions,” Lam said.

HCC Program Director Sandy Richard told students that only 34 percent of “us” get enough exercise.

“Every day you should get some type of activity,” Richard said. “What you do now for your bones is really important.”

dperry@sunjournal.com