Practicing Prevention: A Mandate for
Better Bone Health
Recent Surgeon General's Report Sounds Call to
Action
For years, doctors have recommended milk,
cheese and yogurt to patients as a way to build strong bones. But with the
recent release of the Surgeon General’s Report
on Osteoporosis and Bone Health, many practitioners are now realizing most
Americans haven’t followed their advice. The report, released in October of
2004, is the first ever devoted to bone health and clearly states that most
Americans do not consume enough calcium to prevent osteoporosis. With more
than one in 10 Americans
diagnosed with or at risk for developing this disease, the report calls for
lifestyle changes to reverse these trends: regular physical activity and
daily consumption of calcium- and vitamin D-rich foods.
Laura Simpson, a Greensboro-based dietitian with the Southeast Dairy
Association, says pediatricians in particular should think of osteoporosis
as a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences.
“Pediatricians can be the first line of defense by talking to parents about
the importance of calcium and vitamin D and asking parents what their
children are drinking each day,” she said. “Studies show that children who
don’t drink milk consistently fail to get enough calcium and vitamin D in
their diets.”
Simpson adds that knowing how much milk to recommend is just as important
for preventing disease and reducing risk of fracture. “Through age eight,
kids need three servings of dairy a day, but from ages nine to 18, they need
four,” Simpson adds. “It can be as simple as choosing cereal with milk for
breakfast, a carton of yogurt with lunch and string cheese for a snack.”
These types of bone-building snacks are exactly what dietitians throughout
North Carolina are working to make available in schools. Concerned over the
details of the Surgeon General’s Report, Simpson and her colleagues
collaborate with child nutrition directors across the state to make school
milk more appealing. She helps them display milk more attractively, trains
workers on how to keep it cold, and encourages offering a variety of flavors
in kid-appealing plastic packaging. Simpson says this is the only way to
reverse declining milk consumption among children. She also notes many local
schools are offering milk in vending machines instead of sodas and hopes
these changes will help reverse the alarming trends detailed in the recent
report.
For
additional information, visit:
Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health
www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth
National Dairy Council
www.nationaldairycouncil.org
3-A-Day for Stronger Bones
www.3aday.org
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