The awful accident suffered by Natasha Richardson has raised the issue of making helmets mandatory when on the ski hill. continue reading...

CINCINNATI and BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ — One minute is all it takes to help understand your risk factors for osteoporosis, using a new test launched today by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) to mark World Osteoporosis Day. The one minute osteoporosis risk assessment test asks less than 20 simple questions about family history, medical history and lifestyle. It categorizes risk factors as modifiable (ones that can be changed) or fixed (ones that cannot be changed), and thus can help define a personal action plan for better bone health.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), osteoporosis and low bone mass are currently a major public health threat for an estimated 44 million U.S. women and men aged 50 and older. Ten million individuals are estimated to already have the disease and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Unfortunately, many people do not know they are at risk until after the first fracture. According to The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis, as many as one in two women in the U.S. 50 years and older will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime. continue reading...