Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis (PDF, 127 KB)
Osteoporosis (PDF, 127 KB)
Enter a city, ZIP code (such as 20002), address, state, or place
To receive Publications email updates
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones that causes bones to become weak and break easily. Osteoporosis affects mostly older women, but prevention starts when you are younger. No matter your age, you can take steps to build bone mass and prevent bone loss. Broken bones from osteoporosis cause serious health problems and disability in older women.
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones. People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily.
Osteoporosis is called a “silent” disease. You may have bone loss for many years without any symptoms until you break a bone. A broken bone can cause severe pain and disability. It can make it harder to do daily tasks on your own, such as walking.
Bone loss is the amount of minerals, such as calcium, that your body absorbs (takes) from your bones.
Bone loss can happen for several reasons. Some of the most common reasons include:
Osteoporosis affects more women than men. Of the estimated 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, more than 8 million (or 80%) are women.1
Women are more likely to get osteoporosis because:2,3
Osteoporosis is most common in older women. In the United States, osteoporosis affects one in four women 65 or older.4 But younger women can get osteoporosis. And girls and women of all ages need to take steps to protect their bones.
Yes. Your risk for osteoporosis is higher if you:
You may not have any symptoms of osteoporosis until you break (fracture) a bone. A fracture can happen in any bone of the body. But fractures are most common in the hip, wrist, and spine (vertebrae). Vertebrae support your body, helping you to stand and sit up. See the picture.
Osteoporosis in the vertebrae can cause serious problems for women. A fracture in this area can happen during day-to-day activities like climbing stairs, lifting objects, or bending forward when you have osteoporosis.
Fractures in the vertebrae can cause it to collapse and bend forward. If this happens, you may get any or all of these symptoms:
Osteoporosis is caused by bone loss. Most often, the reason for bone loss is very low levels of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen plays an important role in building and maintaining your bones.
The most common cause of low estrogen levels is menopause. After menopause, your ovaries make very little estrogen.
Also, your risk for developing osteoporosis is higher if you did not develop strong bones when you were young. Girls develop 90% of bone mass by age 18.14 If an eating disorder, poor eating, lack of physical activity, or another health problem prevents you from building bone mass early in life, you will have less bone mass to draw on later in life.
Your doctor will do a bone density test to see how strong or weak your bones are. A common test is a central dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A DXA is a special type of x-ray of your bones. This test uses a very low amount of radiation.
Your doctor may also use other screening tools to predict your risk of having low bone density or breaking a bone.
Your doctor may suggest a bone density test for osteoporosis if:15
Screening for osteoporosis is covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare Part B. Depending on your insurance plan, you may be able to get screenings at no cost to you.
If you have osteoporosis, your doctor may prescribe medicine to prevent more bone loss or build new bone mass. The most common types of medicine to prevent or treat osteoporosis include:
Your doctor may also suggest getting more calcium, vitamin D, and physical activity.
All medicines have risks. For example, menopausal hormone therapy may raise your risk of a blood clot, heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, or gallbladder disease. Talk to your doctor or nurse about the benefits and risks of all medicines.
One of the best ways to prevent weak bones is to work on building strong ones. Building strong bones during childhood and the teen years is important to help prevent osteoporosis later.
As you get older, your bones don't make new bone fast enough to keep up with the bone loss. And after menopause, bone loss happens even more quickly. But you can take steps to slow the natural bone loss with aging and to prevent your bones from becoming weak and brittle.
Calcium is found in your bones and teeth. It helps build bones and keep them healthy. Your body also uses calcium to help your blood clot and your muscles contract. If you don't get enough calcium each day from the foods you eat, your body will take the calcium it needs from your bones, making your bones weak.
You can get calcium through food or calcium supplements.
How much calcium you need depends on your age:16
Pregnant or nursing women need the same amount of calcium as other women of the same age.
You can get the calcium you need each day from food and/or calcium supplements.
Calcium is found naturally in some foods:13
Calcium is sometimes added to certain foods, such as:
When buying food with calcium, look at the Nutrition Facts label to see how much calcium is in the food. Food labels show the amount of calcium as a percentage of the Daily Value (written as %DV). Foods providing 20%DV or more are high sources of calcium, but foods with lower percentages (5% or more) are still good sources of calcium.16
See the example of calcium on a food label here. Learn how to read food labels on a package.
If you have problems eating foods with dairy or don't like to eat them, try the following tips to make sure you get enough calcium:
The answer depends on how much calcium you need each day and how much calcium you get from the foods you eat.
It's best to get the calcium your body needs from food. But if you don't get enough calcium from the foods you eat, you may want to consider taking a calcium supplement.
You can get calcium supplements at the grocery store or drug store. Talk with your doctor or nurse before taking calcium supplements to see which kind is best for you and how much you need to take.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium from the food you eat. Just eating foods with calcium is not enough. You also need to get enough vitamin D to help your body use the calcium it gets.
Your skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. In general, you need 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight to the hands, arms, and face, two to three times a week to make enough vitamin D. The amount of time depends on how sensitive your skin is to light. It also depends on your use of sunscreen, your skin color, the season, the latitude (how far north or south) where you live, and the amount of pollution in the air.
You can also get vitamin D from foods such as milk or from vitamin supplements. The vitamin D you get from food or supplements is measured in international units (IU).
How much vitamin D you need each day depends on your age:17
Pregnant and breastfeeding women need the same amount of vitamin D (600 IU) as other women of the same age.
Although it's hard to get enough vitamin D through food alone, foods with vitamin D include:13
Vitamin D is often added to certain foods, including:
Regular physical activity of any type can help slow bone loss, improve muscle strength, and help your balance. But weight-bearing physical activity is especially important to build bone and help prevent bone loss. Weight-bearing physical activity is any activity in which your body works against gravity.
Weight-bearing activities you can try include:
Learn more about physical activity and how much you need in our Fitness and Nutrition section.
Osteoporosis that is not treated can lead to serious bone breaks (fractures), especially in the hip and spine. One in three women is likely to have a fracture caused by osteoporosis in her lifetime.18
Fractures can happen after minor falls, stumbles, or bumps into furniture. Falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults over age 65.19
Maybe. Your unborn baby needs calcium to help his or her bones grow. While in the womb, babies get calcium from what you eat (or the supplements you take). If you don't get enough calcium from food or supplements, your baby will use the calcium in your bones.
You can lose some bone density during pregnancy, but any bone mass lost is usually restored after childbirth (or after breastfeeding). Also, during pregnancy, you absorb calcium from food and supplements (like prenatal vitamins) better than women who are not pregnant. Your body also makes more of the hormone estrogen, which protects bone.
Yes, women often lose some bone density during breastfeeding. But this loss is temporary. Several studies have shown that when women lose bone mass during breastfeeding, they recover full bone density within six months after breastfeeding stops.20
For more information about osteoporosis, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
Osteoporosis (PDF, 127 KB)
Enter a city, ZIP code (such as 20002), address, state, or place
To receive Publications email updates
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review in 2016 by:
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases staff
Susan Randall, R.N., M.S.N., FNP-BC, Senior Director, Science and Education, National Osteoporosis Foundation
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: May 20, 2019.
[tooltiptop title="OS-tee-oh-poh-ROH-sis"]Osteoporosis[/tooltiptop] is a disease of the bones that causes bones to become weak and break easily. Osteoporosis affects mostly older women, but prevention starts when you are younger. No matter your age, you can take steps to build bone mass and prevent bone loss. Broken bones from osteoporosis cause serious health problems and disability in older women.
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bones. People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and break easily.
Osteoporosis is called a “silent” disease. You may have bone loss for many years without any symptoms until you break a bone. A broken bone can cause severe pain and disability. It can make it harder to do daily tasks on your own, such as walking.
Bone loss is the amount of minerals, such as calcium, that your body absorbs (takes) from your bones.
Bone loss can happen for several reasons. Some of the most common reasons include:
Osteoporosis affects more women than men. Of the estimated 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, more than 8 million (or 80%) are women.1
Women are more likely to get osteoporosis because:2,3
Osteoporosis is most common in older women. In the United States, osteoporosis affects one in four women 65 or older.4 But younger women can get osteoporosis. And girls and women of all ages need to take steps to protect their bones.
Yes. Your risk for osteoporosis is higher if you:
You may not have any symptoms of osteoporosis until you break (fracture) a bone. A fracture can happen in any bone of the body. But fractures are most common in the hip, wrist, and spine (vertebrae). Vertebrae support your body, helping you to stand and sit up. See the picture.
Osteoporosis in the vertebrae can cause serious problems for women. A fracture in this area can happen during day-to-day activities like climbing stairs, lifting objects, or bending forward when you have osteoporosis.
Fractures in the vertebrae can cause it to collapse and bend forward. If this happens, you may get any or all of these symptoms:
Osteoporosis is caused by bone loss. Most often, the reason for bone loss is very low levels of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen plays an important role in building and maintaining your bones.
The most common cause of low estrogen levels is menopause. After menopause, your ovaries make very little estrogen.
Also, your risk for developing osteoporosis is higher if you did not develop strong bones when you were young. Girls develop 90% of bone mass by age 18.14 If an eating disorder, poor eating, lack of physical activity, or another health problem prevents you from building bone mass early in life, you will have less bone mass to draw on later in life.
Your doctor will do a bone density test to see how strong or weak your bones are. A common test is a central dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). A DXA is a special type of x-ray of your bones. This test uses a very low amount of radiation.
Your doctor may also use other screening tools to predict your risk of having low bone density or breaking a bone.
Your doctor may suggest a bone density test for osteoporosis if:15
Screening for osteoporosis is covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare Part B. Depending on your insurance plan, you may be able to get screenings at no cost to you.
If you have osteoporosis, your doctor may prescribe medicine to prevent more bone loss or build new bone mass. The most common types of medicine to prevent or treat osteoporosis include:
Your doctor may also suggest getting more calcium, vitamin D, and physical activity.
All medicines have risks. For example, menopausal hormone therapy may raise your risk of a blood clot, heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, or gallbladder disease. Talk to your doctor or nurse about the benefits and risks of all medicines.
One of the best ways to prevent weak bones is to work on building strong ones. Building strong bones during childhood and the teen years is important to help prevent osteoporosis later.
As you get older, your bones don't make new bone fast enough to keep up with the bone loss. And after menopause, bone loss happens even more quickly. But you can take steps to slow the natural bone loss with aging and to prevent your bones from becoming weak and brittle.
Calcium is found in your bones and teeth. It helps build bones and keep them healthy. Your body also uses calcium to help your blood clot and your muscles contract. If you don't get enough calcium each day from the foods you eat, your body will take the calcium it needs from your bones, making your bones weak.
You can get calcium through food or calcium supplements.
How much calcium you need depends on your age:16
Pregnant or nursing women need the same amount of calcium as other women of the same age.
You can get the calcium you need each day from food and/or calcium supplements.
Calcium is found naturally in some foods:13
Calcium is sometimes added to certain foods, such as:
When buying food with calcium, look at the Nutrition Facts label to see how much calcium is in the food. Food labels show the amount of calcium as a percentage of the Daily Value (written as %DV). Foods providing 20%DV or more are high sources of calcium, but foods with lower percentages (5% or more) are still good sources of calcium.16
See the example of calcium on a food label here. Learn how to read food labels on a package.
If you have problems eating foods with dairy or don't like to eat them, try the following tips to make sure you get enough calcium:
The answer depends on how much calcium you need each day and how much calcium you get from the foods you eat.
It's best to get the calcium your body needs from food. But if you don't get enough calcium from the foods you eat, you may want to consider taking a calcium supplement.
You can get calcium supplements at the grocery store or drug store. Talk with your doctor or nurse before taking calcium supplements to see which kind is best for you and how much you need to take.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium from the food you eat. Just eating foods with calcium is not enough. You also need to get enough vitamin D to help your body use the calcium it gets.
Your skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight. In general, you need 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight to the hands, arms, and face, two to three times a week to make enough vitamin D. The amount of time depends on how sensitive your skin is to light. It also depends on your use of sunscreen, your skin color, the season, the latitude (how far north or south) where you live, and the amount of pollution in the air.
You can also get vitamin D from foods such as milk or from vitamin supplements. The vitamin D you get from food or supplements is measured in international units (IU).
How much vitamin D you need each day depends on your age:17
Pregnant and breastfeeding women need the same amount of vitamin D (600 IU) as other women of the same age.
Although it's hard to get enough vitamin D through food alone, foods with vitamin D include:13
Vitamin D is often added to certain foods, including:
Regular physical activity of any type can help slow bone loss, improve muscle strength, and help your balance. But weight-bearing physical activity is especially important to build bone and help prevent bone loss. Weight-bearing physical activity is any activity in which your body works against gravity.
Weight-bearing activities you can try include:
Learn more about physical activity and how much you need in our Fitness and Nutrition section.
Osteoporosis that is not treated can lead to serious bone breaks (fractures), especially in the hip and spine. One in three women is likely to have a fracture caused by osteoporosis in her lifetime.18
Fractures can happen after minor falls, stumbles, or bumps into furniture. Falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults over age 65.19
Maybe. Your unborn baby needs calcium to help his or her bones grow. While in the womb, babies get calcium from what you eat (or the supplements you take). If you don't get enough calcium from food or supplements, your baby will use the calcium in your bones.
You can lose some bone density during pregnancy, but any bone mass lost is usually restored after childbirth (or after breastfeeding). Also, during pregnancy, you absorb calcium from food and supplements (like prenatal vitamins) better than women who are not pregnant. Your body also makes more of the hormone estrogen, which protects bone.
Yes, women often lose some bone density during breastfeeding. But this loss is temporary. Several studies have shown that when women lose bone mass during breastfeeding, they recover full bone density within six months after breastfeeding stops.20
For more information about osteoporosis, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or contact the following organizations:
This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20201
1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).