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World Osteoporosis Day Puts Emphasis on Exercise

New report, 'Move it or Lose it,' starts three-year lifestyle campaign

Oct. 20, 2005 – Today is World Osteoporosis Day and the International Osteoporosis Foundation is placing the emphasis on the value of exercise in building strong bones. To recognize the event, the organization today released online a new publication – “Move it or Lose it: How exercise helps to build and maintain strong bones, prevents falls and fractures and speed rehabilitation.”

	Download report: English (PDF, 409 KB) Spanish (PDF, 4 MB)

"One of the best ways to build and maintain healthy bones is through exercise," notes Professor Helmut Minne, IOF Board member and author of the new report. The report was issued at a press event in Berlin, Germany.

"This year's World Osteoporosis Day theme is the role of exercise, the first of a three-year 'lifestyle' campaign," said IOF Chief Executive Officer Daniel Navid. "We hope that our positive message will encourage women and men to realize that they can take responsibility for their bone health and not be victims of osteoporosis later in life,"

Osteoporosis, in which the bones become fragile and break easily, is one of the world's most devastating and common chronic diseases. It strikes one in three women over 50 worldwide (more than breast cancer) and one in five men (more than prostate cancer).

Some highlights of the Move it or Lose it report, which will be distributed by IOF's member osteoporosis societies in some 80 countries:

  Because bone is living tissue, which renews itself continuously, it requires regular stimulation from physical activity. Like muscles, bones should be used regularly or they will deteriorate.

  In girls, the bone tissue accumulated during the ages of 11-13 approximately equals the amount lost during the 30 years following menopause.

  One study in Finland shows that the most physically active young girls gain about 40% more bone mass than the least active girls of the same age. Similar, but less dramatic, results were recorded for boys in a United States survey.

  Exercising your back during middle-age can help prevent your vertebrae from weakening or fracturing when you get older.

  Exercise also helps balance and prevents falls – this is important bcause every year, some two out of five people over 65 will fall at least once. Falls are a leading cause of fracture.

  Women who sit for more than nine hours a day are more likely to have a hip fracture.

  Following fracture, exercise can help to prevent further fractures, relieve pain and help maintain quality of life.

  Weight bearing and high impact exercise (dancing, walking, jogging, sports, strength training) is required to stimulate bone formation.

Other World Osteoporosis Day materials released today include:

Un Cuerpo Sano/A Healthy Body – Osteoporosis song
Recognizing that dancing is a fun and effective way to build bones, IOF has commissioned the world's first Latin-beat osteoporosis song, Un Cuerpo Sano/A Healthy Body.

The song was written and performed by Erika Ender, a leading pop singer who donated her creative energy to this project. She has recorded the song in Spanish and English versions.

An accompanying music video featuring Erika Ender has been produced by leading Miami-based film director Felipe Nino.

Public Service Announcements
Today IOF released a new series of eight Public Service Announcements in which world-famous personalities urged people to take charge of their own bone health and avoid osteoporosis:

These celebrities include:

  Paolo Rossi. Italy. Football player

  Julie Payette. Canada. Astronaut

  Erika Ender. Panama/Brazil. Singer/songwriter

  Pilin Leon. Venezuela. Miss World 1981

  Belinda Green. Australia. Miss World 1972

  Kirk Pengilly. Australia. Singer, band INXS

  Mark Holden. Australia. Singer

  Trudie Goodwin. UK. Actress

  Wojtek Czyz. Germany. Para-Olympian

  Prof. Rita Sόssmuth. Germany. Former President of the Deutscher Bundestag

World Osteoporosis Day 2006 Theme

IOF also announced today that the theme for World Osteoporosis Day 2006 will be "Bone Appetit", the role of food and nutrition in building strong bones.

About Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis, in which the bones become porous and break easily, is one of the world's most common and debilitating diseases. The result: pain, loss of movement, inability to perform daily chores, and in many cases, death. One out of three women over 50 will experience osteoporotic fractures, as will one out of five men. Unfortunately, screening for people at risk is far from being a standard practice. Osteoporosis can, to a certain extent, be prevented, it can be easily diagnosed and effective treatments are available.

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the only worldwide organization dedicated to the fight against osteoporosis. It brings together scientists, physicians, patient societies and corporate partners. Working with its 170 member societies in 84 locations, and other healthcare-related organizations around the world, IOF encourages awareness and prevention, early detection and improved treatment of osteoporosis.

International Osteoporosis Foundation 2005 Osteoporosis Journalism Awards
These awards recognize outstanding print reporting about osteoporosis. With prizes of USD 17,000, the closing date for award entries is January 31, 2006. For more information please go to IOF website journalism award.

For more information on osteoporosis and IOF, visit: www.osteofound.org

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