WAM Dubai, 8th July 2012 (WAM) - The Dubai Health Authority (DHA), in collaboration with Nestl? Middle East, has launched an extensive campaign that emphasizes balanced nutrition and healthy living as the best measures to keep the bones healthy and prevent Osteoporosis. The "Care for your Body Care for your Health" campaign aims to promote bone health and create public awareness, especially among women, about effective ways of maintaining a healthy weight and building bone strength to help prevent Osteoporosis.

The campaign, which kicked off lately at the Dubai World Trade Centre, also seeks to highlight effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment of Osteoporosis, a disabling medical condition in which the bones become brittle and fragile from loss of tissue.

Dr. Amal Jaziri, Head of the Geriatric Care Unit at DHA, said the campaign, which runs until October 2012, will involve several government departments and public institutions in Dubai, and will focus primarily on the importance for women to maintain a healthy weight and prevent bone weakening.

Commenting on the campaign, Rainer Mueller, Communications Director at Nestl? Middle East, said, "We are pleased to contribute to public health in Dubai. The campaign leverages the combined expertise and resources of DHA, the foremost health authority in Dubai, and Nestl?, the world leader in nutrition, to create an awareness program that promotes a better understanding among the public about Nutrition, Health and Wellness." In an effort to improve diagnosis of Osteoporosis, the campaign will offer free health screenings and bone density tests for women at several clinics and medical centres in Dubai, and provide expert advice and guidance, in addition to making available, for the benefit of the pubic, a wide range of communication materials containing comprehensive information about Osteoporosis and its prevention, including nutrition recommendations for weight management.

Nestl?'s support of the awareness campaign is in line with the company's efforts to promote good nutrition and healthy lifestyles among all sections of society, and forms part of the Nestl? "Eat Right Live Well" initiative.

Emphasizing the importance of early detection of Osteoporosis, which is often called a silent disease because there are usually no noticeable symptoms until the bones are so weakened that they break easily, Dr. Jaziri noted that Osteoporosis is often diagnosed after the patient breaks a bone or during the course of a routine bone density test.

Dr. Jaziri pointed out that bones start to lose their strength and become weak and frail from the mid-30s to 40 years of age, where men lose an estimated 1% of their bone per year and women lose about 3% of their bone per year, especially in the first five years after menopause.

Osteoporosis is more common in women than men; it affects one in three women and one in five men globally. Significantly, Osteoporosis is more common than breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

Osteoporosis is caused mainly due to insufficient calcium intake in the diet and lack of sun exposure which results in deficiency of Vitamin D. Hormonal changes that accompany menopause in women, smoking, lack of exercise, taking certain medications such as cortisone, and the presence of diseases such as thyroid and rheumatic diseases are some of the other factors that contribute to Osteoporosis. Ensuring proper nutrition and drinking two cups of milk every day can go a long way in keeping the bones healthy and strong, as the body absorbs calcium more effectively from food than from pills and medicines.

WAM/TF