Lifestyle

How can making healthy lifestyle choices affect my bone health?

One of the most important factors in preventing osteoporosis is making healthy lifestyle choices. Healthy lifestyle choices should begin as early as in infancy or young childhood and should continue throughout the life span. The earlier that prevention measures are taken, the greater the benefit to bone health. It is important for all individuals including those with a strong genetic tendency (family history) for osteoporosis to practice healthy lifestyle choices. Practicing healthy lifestyle choices will help you reach your peak bone mass in youth and promote healthy bones in adulthood.

What lifestyle choices can increase my risk for osteoporosis?

Certain long-term habits have been identified as primary causes for osteoporosis. These lifestyle choices may increase your risk for osteoporosis.

• Lifelong low intake of calcium and vitamin D
• Lack of physical activity
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol intake

What lifestyle choices can reduce my risk for osteoporosis?

The bone healthy actions that may reduce your risk for osteoporosis include:

• Eating a well-balanced diet adequate in calcium and vitamin D
• Participating in regular exercise
• Avoiding smoking
• Limiting alcohol intake

In addition, taking safety precautions to protect your bones and prevent falls can reduce your risk for broken bones. Individuals with osteoporosis are at an increased risk for fracture even with minimal trauma such as a fall from standing height.

Why does calcium matter?

Calcium is a mineral that makes bone dense (thick) and strong. Think of your bones as a bank account in which you deposit and withdraw calcium. During childhood, the teen years and early adulthood you build up the calcium in your bone bank. Your skeleton grows and your bones become larger, denser, and stronger especially when you practice bone healthy actions.

Peak bone mass, defined as the maximum bone density you will ever have, is largely determined by your genetics or family history. Peak bone mass is reached between 18 and 25 years of age. In youth and young adulthood, consuming enough calcium each day, participating in regular exercise, as well as taking the other actions to promote healthy bones is necessary to reach peak bone mass. People who attain higher peak bone mass have larger, heavier bones and are less likely to get osteoporosis later in life. After age 25, bone healthy actions help maintain bone mass. Throughout your life, if your dietary calcium intake is too low, your body will "withdraw" the calcium it needs from your bone bank. Over time, if more calcium is taken out of your bones than is put in, the result may be thin, weak bones (osteoporosis). In your senior years, usually after age 70, weak bones may break more easily during normal activities.

It is important and easy to meet your daily calcium recommendations by choosing a well-balanced, calcium-rich diet. The first step in making sure that you have enough calcium each day is to determine how much calcium you normally get in your daily diet

Why is Vitamin D important?

Vitamin D is necessary to build and maintain strong bones. It helps your body absorb and use calcium. It is important to be sure that you get the proper amount of vitamin D.

Why is physical activity/exercise important?

Regular physical activity/exercise at any time in your life is good for your heart, muscle tone, flexibility and coordination. In children and young adults, exercise may actually build stronger bones. After peak bone mass is reached, exercise plays an important role in maintaining bone mass. Exercise also builds strength, improves posture, promotes balance to prevent falls and increases muscle mass to cushion bones in the event of a fall. Frail elderly, people with medical conditions, and those with physical disabilities can benefit from supervised exercise. To ensure your safety, consult your doctor or medical professional before beginning an exercise program. This is especially important if you have (or have a history of) a medical condition or if you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and/or fracture. If you have osteoporosis and/or fracture, it would be beneficial to get a prescription from your medical professional for a physical therapy consultation before starting your exercise program. Taking these precautions will help make sure that your exercise program follows the principles of safe movement while you promote healthy bones.

What type of exercise program should I be doing?

An ideal program combines weight-bearing, muscle-strengthening, postural and balance exercises.

How does smoking affect my bones?

Smoking is bad for your overall health, including your bone health. If you are a smoker and decide to continue to smoke, you are taking the chance of developing osteoporosis and may be increasing your risk for fracture. Smoking directly affects your bone building cells and acts to decrease bone formation. This can be particularly bad for bones during youth and young adulthood when smoking can result in reaching a lower peak bone mass than expected. Smokers may also have lower bone mass because they tend to lead a more sedentary lifestyle than nonsmokers. Smoking greatly increases the risk for hip fracture that generally occurs in the senior years. There is evidence, however, that quitting smoking is an important way to reduce hip fracture risk. In fact, women who stop smoking can cut their risk for hip fracture in half after five years of quitting.

How does heavy alcohol consumption affect my bones?

Drinking alcohol to excess may have a dramatic impact on bone health. There are many reasons why excessive alcohol intake may be harmful to your bones. Alcohol may directly harm bone cells. People who consume too much alcohol also tend to have poor exercise habits, poor nutrition, and an increased risk for falling and fall-related fractures.

How can safety strategies help protect my bones?

Safety strategies to protect your bones are important for individuals of all ages. It is very important for everyone to protect their bones and overall health by wearing seatbelts in any moving vehicle and by using appropriate protective equipment when participating in sports. If you have been diagnosed with osteoporosis, you may be more likely to break a bone as a result of a fall. In fact, most broken bones happen as a result of a fall. Falls happen for many reasons, most of which can be avoided.