Tonight my guest was Dr Mathias Toth, Consultant in General and Geriatric Medicine at Spire Hartswood Hospital, talking about osteoporosis.

This is a medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile, mostly as a result of losing minerals. As we grow, our bones grow stronger and by the age of 18 to 20 we have reached 90% of our peak bone mass. Little change occurs to bone strength in women between the age of 30 and the menopause,but with the start of the menopause there is usually an accelerated decline in bone health.

Osteoporosis research has traditionally focussed on women because their risk is higher, but one third of osteoporosis sufferers are men.

The best time to prevent osteoporosis is in adolescence, by sticking to a diet rich in dairy produce and doing weight bearing exercise.

Sometimes osteoporosis affects the young, but this is normally the result of a medical condition such as anorexia or bulimia, and increasingly as a result of medication, especially steroids and anti-epileptic medication.

Osteoporosis affects about 3 million people in the UK.  50% of women and 20% of men will suffer a fracture after 50.The risk of fracture in women is greater than that of breast cancer or cardiovascular disease. There are about 300,000 fragility fractures every year in the UK and 1,150 people are dying every month as a result of hip fractures.

If you have any concerns about osteoporosis, speak to your GP, or call Spore Hartswood and ask for Dr Toth who will be happy to answer your questions.