Myth: Eating healthy in your 40s and 50s helps prevent Osteoporosis.
Fact: Your Osteoporosis was set in motion much earlier.
Proof: New study in the International Journal of Surgery.
Over 12,000 participants were included in this new study, and the researchers divided them into different groups based on when they were exposed to malnutrition: fetal stage, early childhood, mid-childhood, late childhood, and adolescence.
Their aim was to see whether these groups were more likely to suffer from osteoporosis and fractures later in life compared to those who didn’t face malnutrition.
It is important to remember that malnutrition doesn’t necessarily refer to starvation. A child that eats mostly bread and potatoes, which is common among poorer communities with small food budgets, will lack calcium, magnesium, and other key nutrients in bone development.
To figure out the risk, the researchers used bone mineral density tests (looking for a T-score of -2.5 or lower, which indicates osteoporosis). They also looked at self-reported fractures and used statistical models to adjust for other factors like weight, education, and other health conditions.
The findings were clear: early-life malnutrition increased the risk of osteoporosis. Here are some key findings.
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1. People exposed to malnutrition in the womb were 22% more likely to develop osteoporosis in adulthood than those who weren’t.
2. Malnutrition during early childhood increased osteoporosis risk by 21%.
3. Those exposed to malnutrition in mid-childhood had a 25% higher risk.
4. The risk was still significant in late childhood, at 10%. This group also had a higher risk of fractures, with an 11.5% increased likelihood.
5. The risk was especially high for people who were overweight, obese, or had lower levels of education.
Why does early malnutrition affect bone health?
Bones grow and strengthen most during childhood. If your body doesn’t have enough nutrients to build strong bones while it’s growing, the damage is done early. The effects can be hard to reverse, even with proper nutrition in adulthood.
This means your bones have always been weak. So you need to take pretty drastic measures today to strengthen them.