NEWS

Upcoming nutrition conference to address current osteoporosis research

CHAPEL HILL -- Osteoporosis – called "the silent thief" for its ability to steal bone mass and tissue – can be managed and even prevented through good nutrition, medicine and increased physical activity.

Such strategies will be the focus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s 28^th Annual Public Health Nutrition Update, a conference set for Thursday (April 10) and organized by the department of nutrition, housed jointly in the UNC schools of public health and medicine.

Titled "Diet, Drugs and Bone," the event brings together international medical and nutrition researchers to explore the use of vitamins, isoflavones, physical activity and drugs to prevent or delay bone loss.

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UNC’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education. Online registration is available at www.sph.unc.edu/oce.

Dr. Robert Heaney, professor of medicine at Creighton University and a recognized expert in the field of bone biology and calcium nutrition, is one of the event’s featured speakers. He has said osteoporosis is a major public health threat for 28 million Americans, predominantly women.

"It has become one of the major killer diseases of the elderly," Heaney said. "Nearly 2 million people suffer some sort of related fracture each year.

"The best way to slow or prevent osteoporosis is to have a vigorous, active lifestyle and to consume a diet rich in protein, calcium and potassium," said Heaney. "Additionally, one needs to have plenty of vitamin D."

Conference speakers will address estrogen’s influence on bone, medications that fight osteoporosis and the impact of specific nutrients on bone health. In addition, Dr. Takuo Fujita of the Katasuragi Hospital in Osaka, Japan, will compare the Japanese population’s incidence of bone loss to that of the United States’ population, and Dr. Scott Smith from NASA will share insights from the space program.

"With an anticipated increase in the number of elderly Americans – 24 percent of our population by 2040 – hip fracture numbers are expected to increase greatly," said Dr. John Anderson, professor of nutrition at UNC’s schools of public health and medicine and conference organizer. "Because nutrition is one of the major ways to promote bone health and to prevent osteoporotic fracture, greater emphasis on sound nutritional practices should begin early in life.

"Late in life, although nutrition still remains important, drug therapy for those with low bone density leads to greater quality of life and delays in fracture risk," said Anderson. "This conference will explore both dietary and therapeutic approaches toward the maintenance of bone health throughout the life cycle."

The UNC School of Public Health’s N.C. Institute for Public Health and the UNC School of Pharmacy are conference co-sponsors.

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Note: Bev Holt of the N.C. Institute for Public Health can be reached at (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu and will be on-site to field media inquiries Thursday.

UNC School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu
UNC News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415