So I made it my business to find out. Beals Institute works with patients who have arthritis, osteoporosis, and autoimmune diseases. One of the first things I learned is that osteoporosis is not a disease of older women. You know the ones I'm referring to - the extremely fragile, stoop shouldered women who shuffle along looking as if a puff of wind would knock them over. Or the aging grandmothers who slip on the ice going to church sustaining hip fractures that will incapacitate them forever.
Osteoporosis is an equal opportunity disease affecting both men and women at any age.
Some specific medical conditions or medications may also increase a person's risk of losing bone mass. There are other identifiable risk factors, but these are factors that you may be able to control and even change. Younger women who are vulnerable are those who have eating disorders, weight loss, and are involved in excessive exercise programs. Examples of those at risk here might be Olympic hopeful gymnasts, figure skaters, and runners - all young women who feel they need to be thin to compete. It is a preventable and treatable disease.