Osteoporosis: Why Exercise and Calcium is Important for Teenage Girls

If you are a parent of a teenage girl you need to know that your daughter’s lack of exercise and low calcium consumption may cause her a serious bone issue in her future.

We all know that bones play major role in the body. Young or old, they provide structure, protect organs, anchor muscles, and store calcium. Adequate calcium consumption and weight bearing physical activity build strong bones, optimizes bone mass, and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. This leads to an increased risk of bone fractures typically in the wrist, hip, and spine.

An estimated 44 million Americans, or 55 percent of the people 50 years of age and older are at risk for developing osteoporosis. Eighty percent of those affected by osteoporosis are women.

One in two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her remaining lifetime. Women with a hip fracture are at a four-fold greater risk of a second one. Make no bones about it, these type of fractures lowers a woman’s quality of life.

Women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years following menopause, making them more susceptible to osteoporosis.

It is important for young girls to reach their peak bone mass (genetic potential for bone density) in order to maintain bone health throughout life. A person with high bone mass as a young adult will be more likely to have a higher bone mass later in life.

Inadequate calcium consumption and physical activity early on could result in a failure to achieve peak bone mass in adulthood. Parents of teenage girls must get them moving and eating their spinach. They will be thankful later for your assistance in maxing out their bone density.