Our bodies constantly create, break down, and replace bone in an ongoing cycle that takes about 100 days. Our bodies' bone mass changes through our life stages, and so do our mineral needs during these different stages. Osteoporosis occurs when the loss of bone surpasses the production of new bone to the point where bones break easily.
When osteoporosis develops, bones become much more likely to break (fracture). Find out which areas of the body are more prone to osteoporosis fractures than others and why fractures happen as we get older.
It's true that getting older is one of the biggest osteoporosis risk factors. There may be a genetic component to osteoporosis, too. Because of the link between estrogen production and bone building, postmenopausal women are at the highest risk of developing osteoporosis.
However, osteoporosis is more than just the fabled "dowager's hump." While 50% of women over the age of 70 will suffer from the symptoms and complications of osteoporosis, others may also be at risk of developing osteoporosis. Some conditions, like eating disorders, can lead to osteoporosis. Discover which osteoporosis risk factors we can control, and which we cannot.