Part 1: Understanding Osteoporosis

A variety of factors can affect your chances of developing osteoporosis.

The good news is that you control some of them. Even though you can't change your genes, you can still lower your risk with attention to certain lifestyle changes. The younger you start, and the longer you keep it up, the better.

Here's what you can do for yourself:

Be sure you get enough calcium and vitamin D.
Eat a balanced diet - people with eating disorders or who have engaged in yo-yo dieting (frequent cycles of losing and then regaining 15 pounds or more) have a higher risk for bone loss mostly because they do not get enough calcium in their diet.
Engage in regular physical activity, such as walking.
Don't smoke. If you do smoke, begin a smoking cessation program. Even if you stop later in life, it may still help limit smoking-related bone loss from then on.
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation

A sedentary lifestyle, smoking, excessive drinking, and low calcium intake all increase risk. Although coffee has been suspected as a risk factor, studies so far are inconclusive.

Other factors are beyond your control. Being aware of them can provide extra motivation to help yourself in the ways you are able, and aids you and your physician in health-care decisions. These risk factors are:

being female: women have a five times greater risk than men because they generally have less bone tissue and lose bone more rapidly than men because of the changes due to menopause
thin, small-boned frame, low body weight, or tall and slender body frame
broken bones or stooped posture in older family members, especially women, which suggest a family history of osteoporosis - the susceptibility to fracture can be due in part to heredity
early estrogen deficiency in women who experience menopause before age 45, either naturally or resulting from surgical removal of the ovaries
estrogen deficiency due to abnormal absence of menstruation (as may accompany eating disorders)
ethnic heritage: White and Asian women are at highest risk; African-American and Hispanic women are at a lower, but still significant, risk
advanced age - the older you are, the greater your risk since your bones become less dense and weaker as a person ages
prolonged use of some medications, such as excessive thyroid hormone; some antiseizure medications; and glucocorticoids (certain anti-inflammatory medications, such as prednisone, used to treat conditions such as asthma, arthritis and some cancers); excessive use of aluminum-containing antacids
for men, undiagnosed low levels of the sex hormone testosterone - the stimulation provided by hormones is just as important for men as it is for women - low testosterone can be a consequence of aging, but certain medical conditions can also lead to a rapid loss of this hormone

Risk factors may not tell the entire story. You may have none of these factors and still have osteoporosis. Or you may have many of them and not develop the condition.