Test Your Knowledge of Bone Health

Monday, July 14, 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Knowing key facts about bone health can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to become weak, brittle and prone to fracture. Bone loss that leads to osteoporosis often can be slowed by:

• Getting adequate calcium and vitamin D
• Doing weight-bearing exercise and strength training
• Limiting alcohol consumption
• Stopping smoking

The July issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter includes this short true-or-false quiz on bone health:

Being overweight reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

True: Weight has a powerful impact on bone mass. Because weight increases the load on your skeleton, bones
compensate by growing stronger to support the weight. But the benefit isn't an excuse to gain weight or not to lose weight, for those who are overweight. Instead, thinner or smaller adults — who have weighed less than 127 pounds for much of their lives — tend to have lower bone density and may want to emphasize weight-bearing exercise such as walking or jogging to increase their skeletal load.

Taking testosterone isn't effective at warding off osteoporosis in older men.

False: Men with very low testosterone levels are at increased risk of osteoporosis and can perhaps improve their bone density with testosterone replacement. This therapy also may help men with low testosterone strengthen muscles and reduce the risk of falling.

Taking a prescription osteoporosis drug does not substitute for adequate calcium intake.

True: No osteoporosis drug will help bolster weak bones if calcium intake is inadequate. Vitamin D also is needed to help the body absorb calcium. For postmenopausal women and men over 65 who have osteoporosis, taking a total 1,500 milligrams (mg) of calcium a day is reasonable — in increments of no more than 500 mg at a time.

###

Mayo Clinic Health Letter is an eight-page monthly newsletter of reliable, accurate and practical information on today's health and medical news. To subscribe, please call 800-333-9037 (toll-free), extension 9PR1, or visit www.healthletter.mayoclinic.com.

###

To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.