Gather around folks for another post on the benefits of soccer. The latest study took place in Denmark.

Scientists have concluded that Adults who regularly kick around a soccer ball with friends have better heart and bone health.

The life of a soccer mom is hardly glamorous and usually involves carpooling kids to games and supervising them. But here’s some good news for all the soccer mums around the world.

Hot of the press, women who join in the fun and kick around a soccer ball can dramatically improve their bone and heart health.

The study involved 70 women of different ages (20-47) who had never played the game of soccer before. The women were split into 3 groups, a running group, a soccer group and a control group or placebo for all you wanna be scientists.

The case study lasted for 14 weeks and involved an hour a day for just 2 days a week.

The results clearly showed that the active groups of running and soccer improved their health, balance and muscle groups in comparison to the control group. What surprised the Danish researches was that the soccer group outperformed the running groups in all health indicators.

Most would argue that running is a great aerobic workout. The running group showed a cardiovascular improvement of 10% against the control group. Not bad for 14 weeks don’t you think? Even more surprising was the soccer group that increased their health indicators by a whopping 18%.

Playing soccer also improved balance and muscle strength but had a significant effect on the woman’s bone mineral density by an average of 2-3%. According to the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, (I know, I have too much time on my hands) women after the age of 40 lose bone mass at the rate of about 0.5 to 1% per year. Simply kicking a soccer ball around is the equivalent to reversing 3-6 years of bone aging.

Don’t just take my word for it, Peter Krustrup, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Copenhagen said,

“We analyzed the activity patterns during soccer, and we observed multiple sprints, turns, tackles, headers and shots on goals. Soccer gave women a more diverse workout than running. The varied activity patterns were more stimulating to the bones than simply jogging or running at a steady pace.”

I know what you’re thinking. What about injuries and broken bones?

“When you play soccer in the park or among friends, the injury risk is much much lower than if you play competitive games with local rivals from another club.” Dr Krustnup said.

So next time you want to exercise, forget about jogging or the gym and grab yourself a soccer ball. The value of recreational soccer is enormous, so what are you waiting for?

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars.”