"I’ve lost six inches in height and none of my clothes fit or look

good on me anymore."

Will this be a comment you may be making someday?

In the past, osteoporosis was commonly thought of as a condition that only occurs when women age.  We now know, through research, osteoporosis is a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences. Women are at greater risk to develop osteoporosis but it is important for everyone to begin prevention efforts in childhood and continue throughout life.  Each stage of life affects your bone health differently.
 

Bone Building Years occur from infancy to age thirty when your body is growing and building your bones.   Bone is a living tissue constantly being renewed and replaced during this stage.  Like many parts of the body, bone continues to increase in size until you reach a certain age.  During this time, more bone is deposited than is replaced helping your bones to become thick.  Healthy eating habits that include the daily requirements of calcium and vitamin D, along with sufficient amounts of weight bearing physical activity everyday, help bones become as strong and healthy as possible.  How you build bones during childhood can make a difference in your bone strength as you age.  Think about the process as you would a bank account-the bigger your “account” or supply of bone you build in your youth, the longer your bone “account” will last once you have stopped growing.

Bone Maintenance Years begin once your body has stopped growing and continues until age fifty.   Once you stop growing, your peak bone mass or thickness of your bones will never change.  You can no longer add to your bone “account.”  Now it is important to maintain the bone mass you reach during the Bone Building Years.  Healthy eating habits are just as important during these years and need to include adequate calcium and Vitamin D, along with 30 minutes of activity daily-including weight-bearing activities, to help preserve your bone mass or bone “account.” Your bones are like so many other parts of the body.  Through a remodeling process that occurs the rest of your life, the older bone cells are absorbed and fresh new ones are made to keep the bones healthy. Everyday, your diet also needs a supply calcium and Vitamin D to keep other parts of your body, like muscles and nerves, functioning properly.  If you haven’t had enough dairy products, vegetables, and fruits in your diet to supply the calcium, your body will use the calcium from your bones.  This will begin to decrease the bone thickness in your bone “account.”

Bone Loss Years begin at fifty.  Bone loss is a natural process of aging but starts to happen faster after age fifty.  Keeping what bone you have is even harder.  After menopause, the loss of estrogen increases bone loss and affects the bone remodeling process.  Since men usually develop bigger bones, osteoporosis is not as prevalent in men until after 65.  Risk factors affect how your body helps keep your bones healthy.  If calcium and Vitamin D are in short supply, your body will use the calcium from your bones needed to keep other organs healthy.  Diet and physical activity are just as important to your bone health as in your younger years.  It is important for you to be aware of the risk factors you can control and talk to your healthcare provider about the ones you can’t control. 

You are never too old or too young to improve your bone health