Osteoporosis affects both men and women and occurs when the body fails to form new bone.
During the course of ones life, the body uses the minerals phosphate and calcium from the diet to build bones. If intake of these minerals is not sufficient or if the body does not absorb enough of the minerals from the diet, bone production and bone tissue will suffer resulting in brittle and fragile bones. These bones are then subject to fracture. The loss of bone mass does not occur overnight. It usually occurs gradually over an extended period of time.