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What Is Osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is a process that causes bones to lose calcium and become weak. Sometimes, the bones become so weak that those in the spine, hip and wrist can break simply by falling on them, or even while sneezing or coughing.

Bones are made of two substances. Collagen forms the bone framework, and calcium phosphate makes the bones hard. During your lifetime, your body uses old bone as a source of calcium for important body processes, and then it builds new bone. This breakdown and rebuilding is a continuous process. From childhood through young adulthood, more new bone is formed than is used. Your bones are their thickest between ages 25 and 30. After age 30, your body starts to use more bone than it builds. You lose about 0.4 percent of your bone mass each year.

Osteoporosis occurs for two reasons:

• Enough bone mass wasn't developed before age 30
• Bone loss after age 30 happened too quickly

Osteoporosis develops without symptoms. Many people do not know that they have it until a slight injury or a bump causes a fracture. About 80 percent of Americans with osteoporosis are women.

You may be at risk if:

• You are a woman. After menopause, women may lose bone mass at up to 3 percent a year.
• You are an older adult. The older you are, the more likely you are to develop osteoporosis.
• You are a small person. A smaller person usually has smaller, thinner bones.
• You are white or Asian.
• Someone in your family has the condition.
• You had the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.
• You do not get enough calcium and vitamin D from your diet or through supplements.
• You smoke.
• You drink excessively.
• You are sedentary, with little or no weight-bearing exercise.

Sometimes drug therapy can increase your risk for osteoporosis. Your doctor is your best source of information on this issue.

If you think you are at risk for osteoporosis, talk to your doctor. Your doctor can tell you if you have it and can help you get the right treatment.

Even if you are younger than 30, you can take steps now to help reduce your risk when you get older:

• Don't smoke.
• Limit your alcohol consumption.
• Exercise regularly. Weight-bearing exercise can slow bone loss, help you keep your good posture and improve your balance to reduce your risk of falls. Walking, gardening, even climbing stairs are good exercises. Check with your doctor before starting any exercise.
• Get plenty of calcium and vitamin D. You can get calcium from low-fat or nonfat dairy products: milk, yogurt, cheese and ice cream. Vitamin D is found in milk and in foods such as liver, fish and egg yolks.