Interesting Facts about Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a medical condition in which bones get fragile due to loss of bone tissue. Risk

factors for osteoporosis include gender, age, menopause, low sex hormones, low body weight,

medications, smoking, etc. A person is not often aware of osteoporosis until one experiences a

fracture. Occasional symptoms include:

• Gradual height loss accompanying a stooped posture.

• Backache.

• Fractures of the spine, wrist, or hip.

Here are the facts:

1) In the US, more than 40 million people are already suffering from osteoporosis or are at

higher risk of developing osteoporosis due to low bone mass.

2) Bone mass doubles within birth and age of two, doubles again by age of 10, and then again

during adolescence. Bone mass increases till the age of 30. After this stage, more bone

loss starts to occur as compared to bone formation, resulting in 5-10% bone mass loss per

decade of life.

3) Calcium is one of the main minerals responsible for healthy bones, but 35% of Americans

are calcium deficient. This is one of the main reasons why calcium supplements are so

popular in the USA. So add Viactiv calcium chews to your diet.

4) Medical experts call osteoporosis a silent disease. Most of the time, the first symptom of

osteoporosis is a broken bone due to less or no trauma.

5) Osteoporosis can lead to spinal fracture from minimal body actions like sneezing,

coughing or bending the body. A person may be unaware about spinal fracture until there

is height loss, pain in multiple vertebrae, difficulty in breathing, poor balance, or a

protruding abdomen.

6) According to National Osteoporosis Foundation, osteoporosis result in 2 million fractures

every year.

7) Various researches propose that soft drinks’ containing phosphoric acid, increase the

chances of osteoporosis.

8) Women have higher rate of osteoporosis in comparison to men as women have less bone

mass. Women undergoing menopause experience bone loss due to decrease in estrogen

levels. Estrogen helps in maintaining healthy bones.

9) Various risk factors involved in developing osteoporosis are gender (women are more

prone to osteoporosis), body size (lean, short females have more risk), age, ethnicity

(black and Hispanic ladies have less risk whereas white and Asian ladies have high risk),

family background, etc.

10) Children of age 9-18 years require 1,300 mg of calcium in a day. The recommended dietary

allowance (RDA) for postmenopausal women is 1,200 mg in a day. People diagnosed with

osteoporosis are recommended to take 1,500 mg of calcium daily. People must add

calcium rich foods to diet for fulfilling adequate RDA amount of calcium. Moreover, they

can add calcium supplements to diet.

11) Osteoporosis is the 4th leading death cause for women, following heart disease, cancer

and stroke. Death from osteoporosis is usually a result of bone fracture complications.

12) Osteoporosis is not a joint disease. Also, creaking joints (arthritis) are not a symptom of

bone loss.

13) Drinking four cups of coffee in a day reduces calcium intake so it doubles the risk of bone

loss.

14) Consuming excess salt and proteins increases the risk of osteoporosis by increasing

calcium loss through urine.

15) Astronauts are more prone to osteoporosis due to prolonged weightlessness. Gravity is

necessary for strong bones.