Osteoporosis could become world’s biggest health problem
Here is a synopsis of a press release issued by Inquirer News Service, and published on page B4 of the October 15, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer:
Up to 1.6 million hip fractures occur each year, and by 2050 this number could reach 6.3 million. Osteoporosis, the major underlying cause of hip fractures, will soon overtake heart disease as the single biggest global health threat. Bone experts told a recent press launch of the Anlene Bone Builders that 24 percent of people who suffer hip fractures will die within a year and 50 percent would be permanently disabled.
Prof. Ian Reid, one of the world’s leading bone doctors specializing in osteoporosis, said it was not clear why osteoporosis is more prevalent in Asia. He said that the increase in life expectancies could be the principal driver of this trend.
My Commentary: One thing is clear, dairy milk consumption is Asia has risen dramatically in recent years. ‘By 2020, developing countries will consume 107 million metric tons (mmt) more meat and 177 mmt more milk than they did in 1996/1998, dwarfing developed-country increases of 19 mmt for meat and 32 mmt for milk’ (source: The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 133:3907S-3910S, November 2003). The strong correlation between higher milk consumption and higher osteoporosis in Asia cannot be ignored. As explained in The Milk Imperative, it is clear that dairy milk consumption is the biggest dietary cause of osteoporosis.
Russell Eaton
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