As we have learned in chapters 5 and 6, through the course of life, people age both internally and externally. As people age externally, their skin shows signs of wrinkles and so called “liver spots” appear. Their hair begins to lose it color. As people age internally, they are at risk of getting certain diseases because their immune systems are weakened and/or because the disease is inherited from a family member and is just now making an appearance.  An example is osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease that could be genetic, and causes bone to become brittle which, in turn, makes them easier to break.

Osteoporosis is caused when the bone quality is lowered (1). This disease is a health threat to millions of Americans (1). If left untreated, it can progress but will not cause pain until a person breaks a bone (1). Osteoporosis takes many years to develop and may take a person a numerous amount of time to realize they have the disease(1). Signs that help indicate whether or not a person has osteoporosis includes joint pains and having difficulty in either standing or sitting up (1). Gender raises the possibility of having osteoporosis. For instance, women are more likely to develop osteoporosis when compared to men because they go through menopause which speeds up bone loss. Menopause speeds up bone loss because the body stops producing estrogen (1). Age can raise the chance of having this disease because as a person ages their bone mass lowers (1). Family history also raises the chance of having osteoporosis. For instance, if a close family member has osteoporosis, people within that family are more likely to develop the disease(1). There are many things people can do to try to prevent/delay this disease from occurring such as taking vitamins and exercising. For instance, people can start taking vitamin D tablets to better absorb calcium (1). By doing daily exercises prevent/delay the occurrence of osteoporosis (2).

The prevention of osteoporosis is significant to people’s health. Granted, it may take many years to show the signs of osteoporosis. Although it may take several years to see the signs of the disease, people need to go ahead and take the necessary precautions to prevent the disease, especially if they are elderly and people within their families have the disease. If these people do not take the actions necessary to prevent or delay the occurrence of this disease such as exercising or taking vitamins, by the time they realize they have it, the damage had already been done to their bones.

1.) Nordqvist,Christian  “What is Osteoporosis? What causes Osteoporosis?” MNT: Medical News Today. 28 June 2009. 2 Oct. 2012 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155646.php

2.) Mayo Clinic Staff  “Osteoporosis.” 13 Dec. 2011. 18 Oct. 2012 <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/osteoporosis/DS00128/DESECTION=prevention>