Healthy Bones Week 2009

Local children from Hudson Park, Coogee and North Balga Primary schools were visited by Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA as part of Healthy Bones Week.

‘Are You Feeding Your Bones?’ was the theme of this year’s National Healthy Bones Week (2-8 August 2009), a joint initiative by Dairy Australia and Osteoporosis Australia. The aim of the week is to highlight the importance of calcium-rich foods, such as dairy, in the development of healthy bones and the prevention of osteoporosis later in life. This is particularly crucial for school-aged children throughout their peak bone-building years.

Christina Johnson, Education Officer for Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA says “Everybody starts to lose some calcium from their bones from about age 25 onwards, so it’s vitally important to make sure that children look after their bones whilst they’re young to make sure they are as strong as they can be later in life. Young children really need 2-3 serves of calcium everyday to make sure they’re getting all they need.”

Students learned what bones are made from along with what can happen if they’re not looked after properly. They discovered the importance of bone loading exercises such as running, jumping and skipping in building strong, healthy bones. All feedback received from the teachers and students was really positive.

National Healthy Bones Week is a joint initiative supported by Arthritis WA and Osteoporosis WA.