This web site is updated weekly so that we may bring you the latest health news in a timely fashion. You may want to bookmark this site for future reference. . Young People at Risk for Osteoporosis Young women with eating disorders and children taking certain types of steroids are at high risk of developing osteoporosis as early as adolescence, a panel of researchers from the National Institutes of Health concluded. The meeting brought together specialists from several countries to discuss recent findings on risk groups and treatments for osteoporosis. Only 10 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys between the ages of 9 and 17 get enough bone building calcium in their diet by eating dairy products and vegetables, the panel concluded.
New evidence suggests, however, that physical activity early in life enhances peak bone mass.
Another 18 million Americans have low bone mass. In normal adults, bone mass peaks during adolescence and both men and women lose bone mass steadily throughout adult life. When bones start to thin too much, people develop a condition called osteopenia. If bone thinning becomes even more severe, the condition is called osteoporosis. Children at greatest risk of osteoporosis are those with rheumatoid arthritis or other conditions that require large doses of glucocorticoids, a class of steroids that decreases the rate at which bone mass accumulates, said Dr. Edward Giannini, professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.