Men can be victims, too. To be familiar with the drug treatments available To understand the implications of risk factors To be aware of the daily calcium intake requirements Every three and a half minutes someone in the UK has a fracture as a result of osteoporosis. Forty people die from these fractures each day. The National Osteoporosis Society estimates that one in three women and at least one in 12 men are affected by this painful, debilitating condition. Most cases can be prevented or treated, yet the NOS says that over 90 per cent of sufferers receive no treatment.
Osteoporosis literally means 'porous bones'.
The skeleton becomes so fragile that bones break after the slightest bump or fall. A fracture is often the first sign that anything is wrong. Backache is common. A child's skeleton is replaced, cell by cell, every two years. An adult's takes seven to ten years to replace.