WORLD OSTEOPOROSIS DAY, 20th OCTOBER 2008

That this House marks World Osteoporosis Day on 20th October 2008; welcomes the publication by the National Osteoporosis Society of Your Bones and Osteoporosis: What Every Man, Woman and Child Should Know, a major report that shows almost half of 18 to 24 year olds do not know that there are steps they can take to keep their bones healthy, with more than half unaware that exercise can help to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and one in three unaware about the positive role that diet can play; notes that these are alarming statistics in view of the fact that the teens and early twenties are the most important time in terms of taking action to prevent osteoporosis in later life; and supports the recommendations in the report, including taking nationwide measures to improve the public's knowledge of bone health across all ages including that of school age children through the teaching of bone health within the classroom.