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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : November 16, 2015 4:11 PM IST
Staying physically fit can help you to fight osteoporosis. © Shutterstock
Osteoporosis - a disease that leads to brittle bones, which means being at a risk of fractures, remains one of the most undermined diseases in the country. Going by figures from the Arthritis Foundation of India, it will become the next big health concern.
'The number of cases of osteoporosis has gone up drastically in the last few years,' Rajeev K. Sharma, senior consultant, orthopaedics, and joint replacement surgeon at Delhi's Indraprastha Apollo hospital, told IANS. Women in urban India are highly prone to the disease. Even men are not immune to it, as doctors say, even men in their old age face the problem. 'It's a myth that men are immune to it,' says Raju Vaishya, president of the Arthritis Care Foundation. 'Average life expectancy, which was around 46 in 1947, has increased to around 70 now. As life expectancy increases, diseases related to old age also increase,' he says.
What's causing the rise in numbers?
Doctors blame fast changing lifestyles, poor dietary habits and lack of exercise along with heredity. 'Dietary habits are changing very fast. More and more people are relying on junk or processed food instead of regular balanced diet which has calcium, vitamin D, and other minerals,' says Vaishya. Ashok Kumar, director, rheumatology at Delhi's Fortis Hospital, says, 'A thin and small body frame, family history of osteoporosis, cigarette smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and low calcium diet are the major factors leading to osteoporosis. 'Apart from these, women in the post-menopausal phase are most prone to the disease due to a decrease in the amount of estrogen hormone, which plays a vital role in maintaining bone density.'
How to prevent it?
Unfortunately, osteoporosis can be detected through an x-ray only after 30 percent of the bone calcium is already gone. Doctors say prevention, therefore, largely depends on improving lifestyles. 'Between the age of 30 and 40, one should start taking care to avoid osteoporosis,' says Sharma.'Weight bearing exercises need to be done regularly. One should either go for weight training, yoga, push-ups or exercises like swimming and cycling,' he says. You should try these natural remedies for preventing osteoporosis.
On the dietary side, foods rich in calcium, vitamin D and minerals are required. A 20-minute daily exposure to sunlight is essential for the body to start synthesizing vitamin D, fulfilling our body's requirement for it in a natural way. 'Ideal requirement of calcium for a woman is 400 mg/day, which can be obtained from best food sources such as milk and other dairy products as well as legumes such as pulses and kidney beans,' says Ruhi Dewan, clinical nutritionist at Fortis.
Vaishya says, 'Bone strength, bone density and level of calcium etc. should be done checked regularly post 40 years of age, especially in menopausal women.' 'Although early detection and timely treatment of osteoporosis can substantially decrease the risk of future fractures, it is difficult to completely rebuild bone that has been weakened by osteoporosis. Therefore, prevention of osteoporosis is as important as treatment,' adds Kumar. Here's how you can prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
With inputs from IANS
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