Osteoporosis 1- Intro

Ten million Americans have osteoporosis.  Another 34 million Americans have osteopenia (low bone density).  To say it differently, 44 million Americans have unhealthy, weak bones.  For women over the age of 50, half will break a bone due to low bone density.  For men over 50, nearly 25% will break a bone due to low bone density.  

In some regards, osteoporosis is not quite as "scary" as major killers like heart disease or cancer.  It may also not have the mystique of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis.  But consider this; 20% of people who break a hip will be dead within 1 year.  That number increases to 25% at the 5 year mark.

Osteoporosis significantly increases the chances that you will break a hip.  Interestingly, the number 1 cause of hip fractures, accounting for 90%, is falling.  Fall prevention is another topic entirely and can be addressed a number of ways.  For this series, we will concentrate our attention on bone health.

Bone health, or lack of it, has serious consequences for average Americans.  It is worth our time to investigate the causes of osteoporosis and our best bet in avoiding bone loss.  Yes, yes- the usual suspects are involved; make sure you take in enough calcium, vitamin D and get enough exercise.  But is there more to the story?  We'll discuss osteoporosis in the coming series.

Weight Watchers Update

Last November, Weight Watchers took a bold step and dramatically improved their program.  For those of you who aren't familiar, Weight Watchers (WW) is a system that has been around for decades to help people lose weight.  Their primary method has been to attach a point value to foods and then encourage clients to stay within a certain number of points per day.  

While many people have found much success with the program, nutritionists have often had a love-hate relationship with WW.  Their strict adherence to the 'calorie model' of weight loss lead to all kinds of common sense violations. For example, some clients would eat a candy bar that "costs" a lot of points and then skimp on food elsewhere so they stayed within the allowance.  In fact, the WW website sells a variety of candy bars, ice creams, baked goods and other "junk foods" while advertising the number of points they contain.

To their credit, WW decided to read up on current research and completely re-vamped their entire system of points.

"We used to say 'A calorie is a calorie is a calorie,' " says Karen Miller Kovach, chief scientific officer and registered dietitian for the organization. "We recognize now that nutrients that provide those calories ... also have an impact on the body. The new formula is completely different than how we originally calculated."  Jan 10, 2011 LA Times

 Under the new system, most fruits and vegetables are zero points!  That means you can enjoy them all you want.  Under the old system, bananas were worth 2 points; now they are 0 points.  Successful weight management is not about "counting calories."  It is about choosing the right foods the vast majority of the time.  From there, your physiology will stabilize and you will have the foundation for successful weight loss.

Kudos to Weight Watchers for keeping up with research.