WASHINGTON, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- America's got the message -- milk and other calcium-rich foods are beneficial for healthy bones. But calcium is only one step in a comprehensive, lifelong approach to building healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis. Today, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) launches Step On It America!(TM), a new, year-long campaign, to bring attention to the importance of weight-bearing exercise for bone health. A new survey shows that few Americans understand what types of exercise benefits bones, but almost all know that a calcium-rich diet is important.
Activities that work bones and muscles against gravity, such as those done while standing, are weight-bearing and help to maintain bone mass and muscle strength. According to the survey, almost half of all adults (47%) erroneously believe that weight-bearing exercises require the use of weight- training equipment. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most uninformed about weight-bearing exercises as two-thirds (66%) believe that equipment is needed. Although strength-training with weights is beneficial for bones, there are many everyday activities that are weight-bearing and can be incorporated easily into one's daily routine. "The fact is all of us, at every age, need to make weight-bearing activities -- like walking, dancing and playing tennis -- part of our lifestyle to keep our bones healthy," says Sandra C. Raymond, executive director of NOF.
The survey found that only one-third (37%) of Americans engage in weight- bearing exercise for at least 30 minutes, four or more times a week, which helps to maintain bone strength and mass, and is important to prevent osteoporosis later in life. Furthermore, when asked to identify from a list of activities all that are important to bone health, only 8% of respondents could correctly identify both dancing and walking as important and swimming as not important to bone health. While activities such as swimming and bicycling are excellent cardiovascular exercises, they do not have an impact on bones.
"This survey shows that very few Americans are getting enough exercise to keep their bones healthy and that people are confused about what they need to do," says Raymond. "That's why NOF is launching Step On It America!(TM) this May, during National Osteoporosis Prevention Month, to encourage everyone, at every age, to take charge of their bone health."
The first year of Step On It America!(TM) will emphasize the weight- bearing exercise message. Subsequent years of the campaign will highlight the other steps to bone health, which include: eating a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D; refraining from smoking and excessive alcohol use; and having a bone density test and taking preventive medications, when appropriate.
At the recent National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on Osteoporosis, the panel of experts emphasized that osteoporosis prevention begins in childhood. It is critical to reach peak or maximum bone mass early in life and to maintain that bone mass later in life, to help prevent osteoporosis. While a majority (53%) of Americans realizes that osteoporosis prevention should begin in childhood, four out of ten (40%) think prevention should begin at age 30 or older.
Osteoporosis is a bone-thinning disease that leads to painful fractures, loss of height and independence, and can even lead to death. One in two women and one in eight men over age 50 will suffer from osteoporosis. Contrary to popular belief, osteoporosis is not an inevitable part of aging, but is a preventable disease for most people.
With more than 250,000 members, the National Osteoporosis Foundation is the only nonprofit, voluntary health organization dedicated to reducing the widespread prevalence of osteoporosis through programs of research, education and advocacy.
Cosponsors of Step On It America!(TM) include: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Radiology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
The telephone survey of 1,000 adults (18 years of age and older) was conducted by the Bruskin Goldring OmniTel weekly national telephone omnibus over the weekend of April 7-9, 2000. The results were weighted to reflect the actual distribution of the adult population with regard to age, sex, education, race and geographic area.
SOURCE National Osteoporosis Foundation
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