Dietary risk factors for osteoporosis in the elderly

Considering a growing percentage of the elderly in the Polish population and frequency of osteoporosis incidence, the conducted studies aimed at evaluating the dietary risk factors affecting the development of osteoporosis. A group of 600 Poznan inhabitants was included in the study. Over 63% women and 80% men were shown to have an overweight or obesity. Among diseases, ischaemic heart disease dominated in the examined population group (over 50% subjects) followed by arterial hypertension (about 44% subjects). Osteoporosis was found in nearly 25% women and 6.3% men. The intake of selected nutrients present in the daily food rations was evaluated using a 24-h recall interview. The food rations were found to be improperly balanced for basic nutrients because of the excess of fat, deficiency in carbohydrates and the osteoporosis predisposing deficiencies in calcium, magnesium and vitamin D.