Quotations by Diana Moran

If you're standing and waiting at the bus stop or watching a football match on the sidelines, and you have good balance, do some low-level jumps - just a few inches off the ground. Try a jog/walk - walk for 2 minutes, do 10 (or 20) jogging steps, walk for 2 minutes and so on. Aim for at least 50 joggings steps during your walk. If you have had spinal fractures or are breaking other bones easily, do lower-impact activities like brisk walking, especially if you still have pain. [2019] - Diana Moran

A positive, healthy lifestyle including a well-balanced calcium-rich diet, plus plenty of exercise, helps to build strong bones during your youth. Two types of exercise are particularly important; weight bearing with impact - on your feet with some impact or force behind it (e.g. running, jumping and jogging) and muscle strengthening exercise that works all the muscles quite hard. [2019] - Diana Moran

If you have a low body weight, you're likely to have less bone tissue overall and also less padding, which is important should you have a fall. A BMI (body mass index) below 19kg/m is considered a risk factor for osteoporosis and painful fractures. [2019] - Diana Moran

Osteoporotic fractures can occur in various parts of the body, but the most commonly affected sites are the hips, spine and wrists. Low levels of protein appear to increase the risk of hip fracture. Statistics show that one month after suffering a fracture of the hip, 1 in 14 people will have died - and around half will remain in long-term care. Spinal or vertebral fractures usually occur in the thoracic (middle) or lumbar (lower) areas of the spine. Back pain is the most common symptom. Spinal fractures take from 6 to 12 weeks to heal but can persist for a longer period. For the majority of people, spinal fractures do not interfere with the spinal cord or result in paralysis. When spinal bones heal, they don't return to their original shape but are often flattened or wedge-shaped. [2019] - Diana Moran

With a DXA scan there is minimal X-radiation exposure compared to X-ray or CT scans - less than one-tenth the dose of a standard chest X-ray, and less than a day's exposure to natural radiation. The result is shown as a bone density T-score: +1.0 to -1.0 indicates normal bone density; -1 to -2.5 indicates low bone density (or osteopenia); -2.5 or more indicates osteoporosis [2019] - Diana Moran

Learn to check out food labels: 5g or more of saturated fat per 100g and 10g or more of sugars per 100g is a lot. 0.5g or more of sodium per 100g is high. [2019] - Diana Moran

Adults need 700mg of calcium a day as part of a well-balanced, healthy diet. You can usually get enough calcium as part of healthy eating. For example, your daily requirement for calcium can be achieved by consuming three portions of dairy products such as a combination of a 200ml glass of milk, a yogurt, plus a matchbox-sized portion of Cheddar cheese. If you don't eat dairy products, you'll need to include lots of other calcium-rich foods: green leafy vegetables, like broccoli and curly kale; almonds; pulses, beans and lentils; sesame seeds and tahini; dried fruit, including figs; edamame; tofu and fortified soya drinks. [2019] - Diana Moran