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Bone Health: Early Prevention of Osteoporosis

May 6, 2024

Osteoporosis: The Facts

Osteoporosis and low-bone mass (commonly referred to as osteopenia) are a major public health threat to approximately 53.6 million Americans age 50 years and older. The prevalence of osteoporosis is higher among individuals with lower socio-economic status. Nutrition and other lifestyle exposures have the potential to influence bone health throughout the lifespan. For instance, the ability of bone to adequately absorb, store, and utilize minerals is greatly impacted by the presence of other nutrients. Dairy products provide more bone-beneficial nutrients per unit of energy than any other food group (i.e., protein, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus) but are largely under-consumed relative to the amounts recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Peak Bone Mass

Children and adolescents are constantly growing, which makes their skeleton increasingly vulnerable to fractures. 30-50% of children experience a fracture by the end of their teenage years.

Nutrition and physical activity are not only important for helping prevent fractures during growth; they have a long-lasting effect, helping to prevent osteoporosis later in life. By the time an individual reaches their mid-20’s they achieve “peak bone mass” or in laymen’s terms, the maximum density and strength of the skeleton. Lifestyle choices have been shown to influence 20-40% of one's peak bone mass.

FACT: a small 5-10% change in peak bone mass can offset the chance of hip fracture by 25-50% later in life.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation just released a position statement on lifestyle factors that affect peak bone mass development (see below).

Bone Health During Adulthood

Bones are like how my Dad describes a retirement savings plan. He always nags at me to "invest as much as you can while you're young and don't touch it until you have to." When your body doesn't get enough calcium from the diet, for example, it pulls it from bone. Good nutrition and proper physical activity can prevent bone loss during all stages of life. The figure below shows how suboptimal lifestyle factors can negatively influence bone health across the lifespan.

osteoporosis — Figure from Weaver et al. (2016)

Our Ongoing Research

Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN)
SWAN is a multi-site longitudinal, epidemiologic study designed to examine the health of women during their middle years. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our team continues to investigate if optimizing food group (e.g., dairy, fruit, vegetable, etc) and nutrient (e.g., calcium, protein, etc) intakes prior to and during the menopause transition can prevent bone loss and resulting osteoporotic fractures in women.

Systematic Reviews of the Scientific Literature
We synthesize the scientific literature on controversial issues to ensure public policy and messaging is based on the totality of evidence. Select issues include: calcium supplements, plant vs. animal protein, dairy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, magnesium, and potassium.

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