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.
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