Osteoporosis: A "New Morbidity" for Dieting Female Adolescents?

Abstract

Almost half of the adult skeletal mass is laid down during the adolescent years. The concept of the "bone bank" reminds us that "deposits" of calcium are normally made to the skeleton until about 35 years of age in females. Subsequently, there are continuous "withdrawals" of bone mineral and loss of skeletal mass, eventually resulting in osteopenia (significantly reduced bone mass) and osteoporosis (osteopenia associated with atraumatic fractures) in more than 20 million postmenopausal women, at an annual cost of $7 to 10 billion in the United States.¹

Because there is no cure, prevention of the most common and conspicuous physical finding of adult osteoporosis, the so-called "dowager's hump" (marked thoracic kyphosis due to vertebral compression fractures), as well as the more serious complications, such as hip fractures, must focus on optimizing the peak bone mass and maintaining the skeletal mass.