She never imagined her bones would be so fragile that just twisting the wrong way or coughing could cause a fracture. After the initial shock subsided, she realized how lucky she was to find out before she broke a bone. Osteoporosis is a silent thief, stealing calcium away from the bones until they are so porous and brittle they crumble, says Sharon Hoelscher Day, co-director of the Bone Builders Program at The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. It often develops without symptoms, and most people don t realize they have the disease until a fracture occurs. The goal of the Bone Builders project is to encourage pre-menopausal women to adopt dietary and exercise behaviors to reduce their risk of developing the disease.
Prevention can begin as young as the teen years, experts say.