• Role: Bones are like the scaffolding of our body, supporting us. Plus, they're a mineral bank, especially for calcium.
• Bone Health: Think of it as how solid and dense our bones are.

🌍 Real-World Example: Imagine a skyscraper. A weak structure would collapse, right? Just like that, our body needs strong bones to stand tall and move.

• Gives us both strength and doesn't make us feel like we're carrying a ton of bricks.
• Key term: Bone Mineral Density (BMD) It's a measure of how strong our bones are.
  • Peaks between 35-45 years old.
  • Then, it's a downhill journey, especially after menopause for women.

🎉 Fun Fact: Men usually have higher peak bone mass than women.

• Literally means "porous bones."
• Happens when BMD drops too low, making bones fragile.
• Risks: disability, hospitalization, and even secondary complications.

🚩 Red Flags

• Women, especially post-menopause.
• Over 60? Be watchful!
• Got family members with it? Might wanna check.
• Other risk buddies: low BMI, low calcium diet, smoking, early menopause, no-exercise life, and excessive exercise with limited food in young females.

🌍 Real-World Example: Think of a sponge as an osteoporotic bone – easy to squish and damage.

• Osteoporosis: BMD 2.5 standard deviations below the mean for young white adult women.
• Osteopenia: A "warning sign" stage. It's when BMD is between 1 and 2.5 standard deviations below the mean.
• Detect using DXA scans and CT.

🌍 Real-World Example: DXA scans are like checking the quality of the bricks in our skyscraper.