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Osteoporosis

Home > Community > FirstStrides > Osteoporosis > Start Early to Prevent Osteoporosis

Start Early to Prevent Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis isn't just a health issue for older people. You build your strong bones between age 18 and 30.

Prevent Osteoporosis Whether you are at risk for osteoporosis today depends a lot on what you did early in life. “Preventing osteoporosis begins in adolescence and continues through age 30, the years when your bone mass is being established,” says gynecologist Helene Leonetti, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.

Even if you are no longer young, you can continue to build bone mass. Talk to your doctor about an exercise program that would be good for bone health.

What you can do to prevent or slow osteoporosis:

Make sure you get the daily recommended amounts of calcium and Vitamin D, either through food or a supplement. How much you need depends on your age and other health factors. See the chart below.
Do weight-bearing exercises. Weight-bearing means you are standing up, so your bones are bearing the weight of your body. Examples are walking, hiking, dancing or stair climbing.
Do strength-training exercises, such as lifting weights.
Don’t smoke.
Limit alcohol and carbonated beverages.

Recommended Daily Calcium in Milligrams

Age	Calcium
4-8 years	800
9-18 years	1,300
19-50 years	1,000
50 + years	1,200
Women past menopause who are NOT taking hormones	1,500

Recommended Daily Vitamin D*

Vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb calcium.
You probably don’t get enough from the sun.
* = Measured in IUs (international units)

Age	Vitamin D*
Under 18	Talk to your doctor
Adults	400
Women past menopause	800

This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM

The Metabolic Bone Program

Slow Bone Loss Now!

This education, screening and treatment team includes specialists who diagnose and treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases. The team also provides free heel screenings to detect osteoporosis. If you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, your doctor may refer you to the Metabolic Bone Program for a personal plan to slow bone loss. Call 610-402-CARE for more information.

Risk Factors and Tests

Click here to download a list of risk factors and tests for osteoporosis.

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Lehigh Valley Hospital has campuses in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa. and serves the Pennsylvania communities of Easton, Doylestown, Quakertown, Hazelton, Lehighton, Perkasie, Pottstown, Pottsville, Reading, Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Stroudsburg, and the Poconos and also Phillipsburg and Flemington, N.J., and western New Jersey. You don't have to travel to Philadelphia or New York for quality health care.