A woman's guide to preventing osteoporosis

Main Category: Bones / Orthopaedics
Article Date: 18 Jul 2004 - 6:00 PDT

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Every three minutes in the UK, somebody has a bone fracture due to osteoporosis.1 Osteoporosis is a bone-thinning condition affects one in three females over the age of 50,1 which is why women need to be aware of how to prevent the condition.

Although osteoporosis can have devastating consequences, there is a lot that you can do to prevent low bone density. For the best protection, you should take steps to reduce your risk of osteoporosis throughout your life. A healthy diet (with adequate calcium and vitamin D), weight-bearing exercise, avoiding heavy drinking and not smoking will all help you to build a skeleton that lasts for life.2

Preventing osteoporosis - in your teens and twenties

The best time to build healthy bone is in your teens and twenties, the time when your body is still building up the strength of your bones.3

In order to build up strong bones, you need a good supply of certain nutrients in your diet. One of the most important nutrients is calcium - but many young women don't get the recommended 800 mg of calcium a day from their diet.4

One of the reasons for this is the increasing number of young women who diet by restricting their calorie intake to lose weight (even though they are the right weight for their height or are even underweight). While you are still growing it is a bad idea to go on restricted-calorie diets.5 Always speak to your GP first if you feel you need to lose weight. And, check out BUPA's table of calcium-rich foods to help you get more calcium into your diet - most of them aren't fattening.

Anorexia strongly increases the risk of osteoporosis in later life and adolescence is the most common time for eating disorders to surface.6 When someone has anorexia and is not eating enough, the body produces lower than normal levels of oestrogen (often resulting in missed periods) and this slows the development of their bones. If you suspect that you have an eating disorder, you should seek help as soon as possible to avoid storing up problems for the future.6

Two activities that can have a detrimental effect on your bones are smoking and heavy drinking, and both increase the likelihood of osteoporosis in later life. It is very easy to start these activities in your ultra-sociable teens and twenties, but giving them up is another matter. It might be easier to avoid these habits in the first place to save yourself a great deal of future misery!2

Finally, exercise is an important way to build a healthy skeleton. The type of exercise you need is weight-bearing exercise. This form of exercise stimulates bones to strengthen by exerting a loading impact on the bone and stretches and contracts the muscles, which in turn exert pressure on the bone. Good bone-building exercises include running, skipping, aerobics, tennis and other ball sports, and even brisk walking. Try to exercise at least three times a week for a minimum for 20 minutes each time.2

CONTINUES……..…….BUPA