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BONE UP ON OSTEOPOROSIS

Have you got down to basics recently?

We're often so obsessed with looking after what's on the surface of our bodies - our hair, our skin, our bumps and bulges - that we're in danger of neglecting what's at the very basis of our health and strength. Our skeletons.

Osteoporosis turns strong bones into fragile ones. One in three women in the UK will be affected by it and more women die as a result of hip fractures than from breast and cervical cancer combined. Stress fractures in the spine decrease height and lead to the stooped posture we see in many elderly women.

What causes it? Life expectancy has increased, but women's bodies were not originally designed to last much beyond the menopause. As levels of the female hormone oestrogen tail off, women's bones can become brittle as old bone tissue is lost and not replaced. Many post-menopausal women don't even realise they have the condition until they suffer their first fracture.

Although the disease itself mainly affects women over 45, it's vital to begin prevention when you're young through healthy diet and exercise. Regular weightbearing exercise - walking, running, aerobics or stair climbing - throughout your fertile years will build strong, dense bones and reduce the chances of the disease appearing later in life.

A healthy diet rich in bone-building calcium will also reduce the risks. Many of us consume less than half the recommended daily amount - 1000 mg per day for a pre-menopausal woman. Guzzling calcium supplements can cause constipation, but yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu and skimmed milk will all provide extra calcium without piling on the pounds. Under- or over-eating, smoking and heavy drinking can also be risk factors, so a healthier lifestyle all round will ensure an active old age.

Whether you're sixteen or sixty, it's never too early or too late to begin protecting against this debilitating disease. Why be old before your time?

Learn more about this author, Clare O'Brien.
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