Project targets weak bones

OsteoporosisRaising awareness levels of the risks of osteoporosis is the aim of a new resource pack to be distributed free to all secondary schools in the Eastern Regional Health Authority in the forthcoming weeks. The pack, which will be launched on Thursday, includes a 10-minute video on preventative steps teenagers can take to reduce the risk of suffering from weak and fragile bones later in life.

"It's a difficult message to get across to teenagers that they may be putting themselves at risk of suffering from osteoporosis in 30 to 40 years. It is teenage girls who are most at risk because many of them don't eat enough calcium-rich foods and don't take enough exercise to build up their bones," says Carolyn Hillary, senior community dietician in the East Coast Area Health Board.

"Regular weight-bearing exercise is the most important factor to develop strong and healthy bones," says Prof Moira O'Brien, Department of Anatomy, Trinity College Dublin and president of the Irish Osteoporosis Society.

"Bones are most sensitive to growth during this last growth spurt period which can happen any time between the ages of eight and 18 but usually between 10 and 14 in girls and 12 and 16 in boys. Exercise should be a more important part of the school curriculum and teenagers should be getting half an hour's exercise per day in school."

The standard dietary recommendations for good bone health for children and adults are three servings of calcium rich foods per day. However, the message in this resource pack is that teenagers need five servings of calcium-rich foods per day because of the crucial bone growth during these years.

Dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt are considered to have the most "bioavailable" form of calcium.

"We show on the video how you'd have to eat 24 bowls of spinach to get the equivalent amount of calcium as you get in one glass of milk," continues Hillary.

"The biggest message we have to get across is that teenagers have to work hard to increase their calcium intake which goes hand in hand with the need for more exercise," adds Hillary.

The intake of Vitamin D for calcium absorption is also important.