Nearly 85 percent of Taiwanese women are worried about getting osteoporosis, but the majority are not taking preventive measures, the Taiwanese Osteoporosis Association said, warning that bone loss can be rapid and severe for some people.
A survey of 1,107 women over the age of 30 showed that while 84.6 percent were concerned about bone loss, 76 percent said they consume less than 600mg of calcium every day.
The government-recommended daily calcium intake is 1g to 1.2g.
However, only 4.4 percent of respondents said they consume more than the recommended level.
Many respondents do not seem to take calcium deficiency very seriously, including 59 percent who said they do take any kind of calcium supplements, the group said.
Association director Wu Chih-hsing (吳至行), a physician at National Cheng Kung University Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine, said most people think that only those with early-bone loss symptoms or elderly people need calcium supplements.
However, clinical observations show that the average age of people who suffer osteoporotic fractures has declined in recent years.
Citing data provided by the Health Promotion Administration, the association said that people in their 40s, regardless of gender, on average lose 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass each year, and that women, during or after menopause, can lose between 3 and 5 percent each year, the association said.
Wu said he recently treated a 50-year-old woman who had been suffering from frequent back pain since last year.
The woman, who does not take calcium supplements, said her condition got worse, as she began to feel back pain even from just carrying a shopping bag for 10 minutes.
An examination showed that the woman had a bone density T-score of minus-2.1 (a T-score between +1 and -1 is considered normal or healthy) and four spinal fractures, he said.
People over the age of 30 should monitor their daily calcium intake, because bone loss can occur rapidly, the group said.
Wu advised women to take at least 1g of calcium per day from natural food, such as milk, or from calcium supplements, get enough vitamin D to help maximize calcium absorption and exercise regularly to reduce the speed of bone loss.
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