Do you know how healthy your bones are? In a world of smartwatches and fitness trackers, many of us are aware of our health in a way we have never been before. But while we might know to check our blood pressure or keep our weight in check, most people don’t think about their bone health until it is too late.
Poor bone health can lead to osteoporosis, which causes them to lose strength and break more easily, sometimes from as little as a cough, a sneeze or even a hug. Some 3.5 million people in the UK are estimated to have the condition, with half of women and 20 per cent of men over 50 breaking a bone because of it.
“Osteoporosis is one of the biggest threats to older people’s health and independence as our population ages,” says Craig Jones, chief executive of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. “There’s a misconception that broken bones are manageable or trivial – but this is often not the case when we’re older. The end result of untreated osteoporosis is a life-threatening hip fracture, which leads to the death of over a quarter of sufferers within a year.”
The good news, he adds, is that “it doesn’t need to be like this”. There are things we can do at all stages of life to improve our bone health outlook. Here, experts share their top tips…
