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Surgeon General Highlights Bone Health Crisis, Sees Prevention as Key MilkPEP, DMI Convey Message to Media, Consumers On October 14, U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona released a report that encourages Americans of all ages to do more to protect their bones, including increasing consumption of calcium-rich foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt. This is the first time that a surgeon general has undertaken a study on this topic, illustrating the growing concern of the medical community about the state of Americans' bone health.In the report, Dr. Carmona warned that by 2020, half of all U.S. citizens older than 50 will be at risk for bone fractures due to osteoporosis or low bone mass if no action is taken. He issued a call to action for Americans to take steps immediately to improve and maintain healthy bones, including getting the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D, maintaining a healthy weight and becoming physically active. The report outlined how osteoporosis or other bone diseases can lead to a "downward spiral" in a person's physical health and quality of life. The report calls osteoporosis a "silent" condition because many people are unaware that their bone health is in jeopardy. In fact, the report states that four times as many men and nearly three times as many women have osteoporosis than report having the condition. "Osteoporosis isn't just your grandmother's disease. We all need to take better care of our bones," said Dr. Carmona. "The good news is that you are never too old or too young to improve your bone health." To help ensure that the surgeon general's message was heard by the public, the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) and Dairy Management Inc. worked together to draw media attention to the report's release. The groups sent a national news release and video footage to media outlets across the country, outlining dairy's important role in the fight against bone disease. Leading health organizations also played a part in these efforts in order to highlight the importance of the surgeon general's findings. "Preventing osteoporosis is surprisingly straightforward — along with regular physical activity, kids and adults should eat a balanced diet that includes at least three servings of calcium-rich lowfat milk, cheese or yogurt each day to help build stronger bones to last a lifetime," said Frank Greer, M.D., speaking on behalf of the American Academy of Pediatrics. To read the dairy industry's full news release, click here. For more on the government's report, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov.
Posted October 18, 2004
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