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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Osteoporosis, a condition where bones become weak and are more likely to break, is often referred to as a “pediatric disease with geriatric consequences.” While it is most commonly diagnosed in women over the age of 50, girls build close to 90 percent of their bone mass by the time they turn 18, so childhood and adolescence are the key windows of opportunity to ward off the disease.
To educate 9-14 year old girls and their parents about these important bone-building years, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) recently launched a new campaign called Best Bones Forever! The campaign is aimed at improving bone health and decreasing the risk of osteoporosis by encouraging girls to get the recommended amounts of calcium, vitamin D, and physical activity they need to build strong bones.
Osteoporosis is four times more common in women than men, and research shows that adolescent girls consume calcium and participate in physical activity at lower rates than boys. Best Bones Forever! wants to get the message across that if girls are “older than nine, now’s your time!”
HHS recommends girls look for foods with calcium and vitamin D, which is necessary to help bones absorb calcium. One recent study found 70 percent of kids in the U.S. had below-normal levels of vitamin D, with deficiencies increasing as kids age from childhood to adolescence. The federal government recommendation for daily calcium consumption increases from 1,000 milligrams (mg) to 1,300 mg at age nine. The guidelines for physical activity for kids are 60 minutes daily, including three days of bone-strengthening activity.
Best Bones Forever! embraces an issue close to every girl’s heart—friendship—to urge girls and their BFFs (best friends forever) to “grow strong together, and stay strong forever.” Research shows that girls whose friends like milk are more likely to have higher calcium intake. Similarly, physical activity also gets a boost among girls whose friends have positive attitudes toward sports.
The message for parents is one of urgency. Girls between the ages of 9 and 18 are in their critical bone-building years. Campaign materials and a Web site for parents empower them to “Act now to help her build her best bones forever!” When asked about who has the biggest influence on what they eat, girls ages 8 to 15 first cite parents (83 percent), followed by “themselves” (60 percent), and friends (19 percent).
“Parents can make a big difference in helping their kids build strong, healthy bones, and the things that improve bone health are also good for overall health,” said Dr. Wanda Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Women’s Health). “So go ahead and stock the fridge with foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, like yogurt, milk, cheese, tofu with added calcium, and leafy greens. Encourage her to be active, and do things as a family such as taking walks after dinner.”
Best Bones Forever! updates and revamps an earlier national bone health campaign for girls called Powerful Bones. Powerful Girls, which was first launched in 2001. In order to appeal to girls as they mature, the new campaign has adopted an edgy vibe, trading the earlier campaign’s cartoon spokescharacter for the ‘exskullmation’ point. This new iconic symbol is designed to get girls excited about building the best bones forever.
Best Bones Forever! also launched a community pilot program in three communities: North Las Vegas, NV; Ulster County, NY; and Pinal County, AZ. Coalitions in each site are bringing the campaign to their communities through a range of activities. They are also executing and evaluating a bone health behavior change program for parents and girls called BodyWorks. Adapted from OWH’s existing family health and fitness program for parents, BodyWorks features a new complementary physical activity program just for girls in these communities. Results from the community pilot program will demonstrate which activities can be replicated in towns across the country.
Best Bones Forever! is a public-private partnership that brings together organizations from across the country. Founding partner, National Osteoporosis Foundation, tops a partner roster that also includes Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., Action for Healthy Kids, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, National Association of School Nurses, the National Institutes of Health, Women’s Sports Foundation, and more. For more information on campaign partners and activities, go to the campaign Web site for girls at www.bestbonesforever.gov or for parents at www.bestbonesforever.gov/parents.
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