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With the arrival of fall, Os-Cal(R), the number one doctor- and pharmacist-recommended calcium supplement, invites women to visit www.oscal.com/bumpitup to "do the bump" to learn more about hip fracture and share information with other women they care about. Each woman who "bumps" hip health information to a friend will receive a downloadable $3 coupon for any Os-Cal product. Visitors to the site can also enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood, where they just might "bump" into a favorite celebrity.
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Boning Up on the Facts
Although hip fracture is a serious health issue that will affect one out of three women by the age of 90 and results in more than 300,000 hospitalizations annually, awareness and concern of the risks associated with it remains low, according to Donnica Moore, M.D., president of the Sapphire Women's Health Group and nationally renowned women's health expert.
"Having healthy hips is vitally important to anyone who wants to live a healthy, active life," she says. "However, there is still room for most women to educate themselves on hip fracture and how to lower their risks."
According to a recent survey commissioned by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare among women aged 45 to 64, 80 percent of those polled said that they do not worry about hip fracture. Also, although 92 percent noted that hip fracture could lead to the loss of ability to walk properly or at all, many did not realize some other serious consequences associated with it. In fact, only about one out of three realized that death is also a possible risk, even though one out of four women over 50 who suffers a hip fracture dies within one year.
While most women may not realize the severity of hip fractures, most agree that their hips greatly affect their quality of life. Most say that having healthy hips enables them to be as active as possible, enjoy life each and every day and do things like travel without worrying how they will get around. However, while about three out of four women said they consider taking care of their hips an important part of their healthcare regimen, not enough are taking the proper steps to do so. For instance, while taking a calcium and vitamin D supplement like Os-Cal is one of the best ways to keep bones strong, about a third of women 45 to 64 said they do not currently take one. Of those that do take calcium supplements, only about one out of six is taking them properly, in twice daily doses. Experts recommend taking calcium and vitamin D supplements in divided doses throughout the day, as the body can absorb only so much calcium at one time.
Role of Calcium and Vitamin D
Adequate calcium intake is one of the best defenses against hip fracture. A person's body must maintain a constant level of calcium in the blood to function, and when the body's intake level is too low, it meets its needs by stealing calcium from bones, weakening them over time. And while many people assume they take in enough calcium, more than 75 percent of all Americans are not getting enough in their diet, a statistic that increases among older women. About 90 percent of women over 50 and 99 percent of women over 70 do not get an adequate amount.
As important to bone health as calcium is vitamin D. Getting enough vitamin D is not only essential for calcium absorp
