To the bone
Bones have many roles to play in the body; they provide structure to the body, protect the organs and are also responsible for storing calcium. That’s why our mothers always emphasised not skipping our daily glass of milk – surely they wanted our bones and teeth to be strong. As we age, and due to other factors as well, our bones start to become weak; this may also be because we are losing bone mass (which is a natural process) but are not making enough of it. This weakening or thinning of bones is called osteoporosis. It also makes us more vulnerable to fractures.
No matter whether you have or have not paid attention to bone health in your childhood, it is something that can and should be done throughout our lives. However, to take care of the bones we must know what affects our bones. How healthy our bones are depends on:
The amount of calcium in our diet as low calcium content contributes to low bone density and early bone loss.
While it’s important to build strong and healthy bones during childhood and adolescence, you need to protect bone health during adulthood too
The level of physical activity: Women have less bone tissue than men;
Your race: white or people of Asian descent are more at risk of developing osteoporosis.
Your frame size and family history: thin or people of small body frame have less bone mass and hence experience bone degeneration. People whose parents or siblings have osteoporosis also have more chances of developing osteoporosis.
Getting older: as we age, our bones lose density and become thinner and weaker.