5 Steps to Help Avoid Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition of decreased bone strength that increases the risk of a broken bone. Once women reach menopause, their risk for osteoporosis increases as bone loss accelerates and bones weaken. In fact, most of the work that went into building strong bones occurred in your teens and early 20s. Now, you need to do the right things to keep your bones strong.

What Can You Do to Stay Strong?

There's good news. There are strategies women can take to maintain muscle strength and help prevent bone loss and osteoporosis: 

Exercise. Women should get 30 to 40 minutes of physical activity, three to four times each week, including a combination of resistance training and weight-bearing exercise. 

Eat a bone-healthy diet. Women should eat foods rich in dietary calcium and protein, along with plenty of fruits and vegetables, in addition to getting vitamin D through sunlight or a supplement. 

Kick bad habits. To protect bone health, stop smoking. Drinking heavily can also hurt bone health. It's also important to avoid being too thin. Women who are underweight are at higher risk for osteoporosis than those who are a normal weight. 

Know your risk factors. It's essential to get educated about osteoporosis and learn if you are at greater risk for developing the disease. Common risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Going through menopause before age 40
• Use of medications known as glucocorticoids, also known as steroids (e.g., prednisone or methylprednisolone)
• Having rheumatoid arthritis, an overactive thyroid or parathyroid gland, or malabsorption disorders, such as celiac or Crohn's disease
• Women who have broken bones in the past, especially after menopause, or have a family history of osteoporosis. 

Are you at risk? Take this risk assessment quiz and find out your personal risk factors for developing osteoporosis.

• Check your bone health. Once women reach menopause, they should visit their doctor to have their bone health and risk for fracture assessed. Women who are diagnosed with bone loss should follow the treatment regimen prescribed by their doctor.

More information: The National Institutes of Health and the International Osteoporosis Foundation offer additional information.