"It would be difficult to substitute plant foods for dairy products to meet the calcium requirements. The volumes of vegetables that you need are just ridiculous," Weaver says. "We have choices. You can reduce protein and salt and try to get enough vegetables, or you can drink milk and not worry about it. Alternatively, calcium can be obtained from fortified foods and supplements."

Calcium is the most common mineral found in the body, and it is used in many body functions, such as muscle movement, including the heart. Bones contain much of the body's calcium, and as the body ages it gets some of the calcium it needs by slowly breaking down bone material. Excessive loss of bone material and minerals results in osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis causes bones to weaken, resulting in a greater risk of fractures and other injuries. In severe cases, osteoporosis also can cause a person's shoulders to round and the upper back to deform, resulting in the unfortunately familiar dowager's hump.

Osteoporosis affects 35 million Americans, four out of five of whom are women, at an annual cost of $13 billion.

'"/>

Contact: Connie Weaver
weavercm@cfs.purdue.edu
765-494-8231
Purdue University
14-Oct-1999