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With the frightening statistics now emerging, all women have to ask themselves if they could become victims of osteoporosis. What are your chances of having bone thinning and fracturing? With roughly 1 in 4 women being affected, we are on the verge of an epidemic. The disorder is far more common in women than in men for many reasons. For instance:
Women have smaller bones, with less bone mass at maturity.
They get less exercise, so their muscles are smaller.
They are inclined to go on slimming diets that frequently are
not nutritionally balanced.
• Extra demands are made on their total calcium level during
pregnancy and breast-feeding – an especially critical situation when teenage girls become pregnant before their bodies have reached their peak mass.
Women are taking up smoking in ever-increasing numbers.
Alcoholism among women is on the increase.
Many women are heavy users of laxatives.
Many women take diuretics to flush water from their
• More women are in stressful occupations in difficult jobs or
have conditions at home that cause strain.
• More women are using antacids to overcome stomach
problems.
• Hysterectomy, with removal of ovaries, is a common type of
operation for women.
• After menopause, women no longer have the oestrogen
hormones that have been giving bone protection.
• Women live longer than men, with an extension of life expectancy twenty-five or thirty years after menopause.
How much are you at risk? With many factors involved, it is not easy to predict who will suffer. Some factors you can change, and others such as gender and genes you obviously cannot. While a certain amount of bone loss is normal, some factors play their part in maintaining your bone mass, other factors have a bearing on how quickly you lose it, and it also depends on how long you live.
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