As we celebrate the men in our lives this Father’s Day, please remind them to be attentive to their health, and especially their bone health. Many people don’t realize men get osteoporosis, too. One in four men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. And men suffer more fatalities after a hip fracture than women do.
My dad was still working on our farm into his 70s. He seemed to have endless strength. I know many of you think of or remember your dad that way too. However, we may not think about the role bone health played or plays in keeping them strong.
At the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), we are dedicated to preventing and treating osteoporosis and the suffering, immobility and lack of independence it creates.
As we worry about our overall health during the COVID-19 crisis, please let’s also remember our bone health. We want to remind the men in our lives to stay bone strong!
The following five steps can improve bone health and help prevent or manage osteoporosis:
Get the recommended daily amounts of calcium and vitamin D you need every day.
Do regular weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises.
Don’t smoke and don’t drink too much alcohol.
Talk to your healthcare provider about your chance of getting osteoporosis. If you haven’t had a bone density test, ask when you should get one.
If you have osteoporosis, talk to your healthcare provider about treatment options, which can prevent fractures by as much as 70%.
The good news is that life expectancy continues to rise in the U.S. This means we need to take care of our bone health to keep us strong and independent for as long as possible. While there are plenty of health conditions to worry about as we age, we must fight osteoporosis as we do heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s.
Men older than age 50 are more likely to break a bone due to osteoporosis than they are to get prostate cancer.
Approximately two million American men already have osteoporosis. About 12 million more are at risk of fractures due to low bone density.
Each year, about 80,000 men will break a hip due to osteoporosis.
Please consider honoring your dad this year with a donation to the NOF. For information about men and osteoporosis, click here. You can download the NOF brochure The Man’s Guide to Osteoporosis and give it to the men in your life.
Thank you,
Claire Gille
Chief Executive Officer