Men with prostate cancer run the risk of brittle bones as a side effect of their cancer treatment, but one hour of football or soccer training a few times a week can effectively counter that risk, according to articles published in Osteoporosis International and the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. The two articles were from a PhD thesis by Jacob Uth, a physiotherapist at the University Hospitals Centre for Health Research (UCSF) at Copenhagen University. The studies, titled “Football training improves lean body mass in men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy”and “Efficacy of recreational football on bone health, body composition, and physical functioning in men with prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy: 32-week follow-up of the FC prostate randomised controlled trial,” revealed that even older men receiving treatment for prostate cancer can strengthen their bones by playing football (known as soccer in the U.S.), and benefit the muscles of the body and the heart in the process. The findings are notable because prostate cancer patients have weaker bones as a result of the disease and, especially, because of Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) given to lower testosterone levels and known to impair musculoskeletal health. The bones in men undergoing ADT become decalcified, putting them at an increased risk of osteoporosis.