Ahead of World Osteoporosis Day, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) yesterday said that people reach their peak bone mass around age 30 and it might slowly begin to drop afterward, so it offered four tips for people to maintain bone mass and prevent osteoporosis.
World Osteoporosis Day is marked on Oct. 20 each year and this year’s campaign theme is “Building Better Bones Throughout Life,” the HPA said, adding that developing a higher peak bone mass at a younger age provides better protection against osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is considered a “silent” disease, which causes bones to become weak and brittle with lower bone mass, and people are typically unaware that they have the disease until they break a bone, it said.
Photo: CNA
According to the HPA’s 2017-2020 National Health Interview Survey, the prevalence of osteoporosis among people aged 50 and above was about 8.1 percent, and it is more prevalent in women than in men, with about one in 10 women aged 50 or over affected by it.
The HPA said the survey also showed that the average daily calcium intake among people aged 19 to 64 was only about 505mg to 566mg, which is only about half of the recommended daily intake of 1,000mg for adults.
HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said calcium is one of the main minerals that creates osteocytes, or bone cells, so sufficient calcium intake is crucial for building strong bones, and it is important to store a higher bone mass before age 30 to slow bone loss and prevent osteoporosis.
The HPA offered four tips for maintaining bone mass: keeping a healthy diet with plenty of calcium, exercising, getting sufficient sunlight exposure and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
For sufficient calcium intake, it recommended drinking 1.5 to two cups of milk (240ml per cup) per day, or to consume calcium-rich foods, such as cheese, black sesame, dried clove fish, traditional tofu and dark green leafy vegetables, it said.
Exercising regularly can stimulate bone growth in young people and help maintain bone mass in adults, the HPA said, adding that weight-bearing and resistance exercises are the best, such as jogging, aerobics and weight training.
It also said that some sunlight exposure, preferably early in the morning or at dawn, can boost vitamin D levels and increase calcium absorption, strengthening bones.
In addition, the HPA encouraged people to maintain a healthy body weight, avoid smoking and cut back on alcohol consumption to slow bone mass loss and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
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