Strong, healthy bones are important for providing structure, anchoring muscles and ligaments, protecting our internal organs and storing essential minerals.
From birth until the age of 30, new bone is produced more quickly than old bone is broken down, reaching a peak bone mass at approximately 30 years of age. Bone remodelling continues throughout adulthood, but bone mass slowly decreases, as the old bone removal is quicker than new bone production. Poor bone growth as a child, and greater than normal bone loss as an adult can both contribute towards an increased risk of osteoporosis.