Twenty-five million of us suffer from osteoporosis, or brittle bone disease. 80% of these are women over the age of 50. You've heard about older people falling and breaking their hips. In many cases, it's just the reverse. She was walking down the mall, and her hip spontaneously broke and then she fell. Her bones were so brittle that just walking caused them to snap. And it all started in her thirties. After age 35, your bones lose bone mass at the rate of about 1% per year. Menopause accelerates the bone loss so that by age seventy-five, 90% of women have osteoporosis.
What does this mean to you?
A third of the women over 65 suffer fractured vertebrae or fractured hips. And not to leave the men out, by age 80, a sixth of the men also break a hip. What's so bad about a few broken hones? Well, for 50,000 seniors last year, these fractures were a death sentence. Unable to walk and to be active, they were confined to bed. A quarter of them died within 6 months. That's one death every twenty minutes. However, osteoporosis is not just about broken bones. Have you ever wondered why some older people seem to wrinkle more than others? Osteoporosis actually causes your skull to shrink, too! According to one plastic surgeon, "The result of ... such bone loss ... is skin that sags, like a dress that's a size too big." If you plan on living a long, full life, you'll have to reckon with osteoporosis. The good news is that prevention is simple, costs little, and is available to everyone.
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