Sally Field Addresses Members Of Congress About Osteoporosis During National Osteoporosis Awareness Month

Main Category: Bones / Orthopedics
Article Date: 19 May 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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Actress Sally Field took her campaign to raise awareness around osteoporosis and bone health to Capitol Hill today, calling on women in Congress to take steps to protect their own health and to help spread the word to their constituents.

"Osteoporosis and low bone mass is a national health issue, threatening more than 44 million Americans age 50 and older,2" Field said. But once detected, the disease is treatable and even reversible.3

"Any woman can find herself at risk for osteoporosis at some point in her life," said Field, whose bone mineral density (BMD) test after a year on a prescription medication showed that her progression of osteoporotic bone loss had stopped."But we can start to shift the odds in our favor by rallying together and challenging ourselves and each other to take care of the health of our bones."

Field is urging the women of Congress to learn more about the Rally With Sally For Bone HealthSM campaign, sponsored by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which encourages women to protect themselves against fractures so they can remain active and reduce their risk of a debilitating injury. By visiting the campaign's Web site, http://www.BoneHealth.com, women can sign up for the "Start Right, Stay Strong" Challenge. The Challenge includes tips and suggestions on how women can keep their bones healthy by getting a BMD test, getting adequate calcium and vitamin D, exercising regularly, and taking medicine as directed by their doctor.

Field is kicking off the second stage of her osteoporosis awareness program, in which she continues to encourage women to join the Rally With Sally campaign by asking the members of Congress to bring her message back to their constituents. To date, tens of thousands of women have already signed up to join Sally's campaign and promised to do the right things for their bone health.

About Roche and GlaxoSmithKline

Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), based in Nutley, N.J., is the U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters of the Roche Group, one of the world's leading research-oriented healthcare groups with core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. For more than 100 years in the U.S., Roche has been committed to developing innovative products and services that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people's health and quality of life. For additional information about the U.S.pharmaceuticals business, visit our websites: http://www.rocheusa.com or www.roche.us.

GSK, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, visit GSK on the World Wide Web at http://www.gsk.com.

Rally With Sally for Bone HealthSM is a registered service mark of Roche Therapeutics Inc.

All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.

References

[1]Osteoporosis: Progress and Promise. National Instituteof Arthritisand Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Bethesda, MD; August 2000.

[2]America's Bone Health: The State of Osteoporosisand Low Bone Mass in Our Nation: The National Osteoporosis Foundation; February 2002.

[3]U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. Bone Health and Osteoporosis: A Report of the Surgeon General. U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2004.

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