Osteoporosis is a degenerative bone disease that results in decreased bone mass. This condition puts people at a higher risk of bone fractures than people with healthy bones. The word "osteo" refers to bone, and "porosis" means "spongy." This translates into "spongy bone." Normal bone marrow has small holes throughout, but people that develop osteoporosis have bones that are full of large holes. This is what contributes to easier breakage of the bones and their increased fragility.
             Osteoporosis has no one single cause. Overall bone health is attributed to many factors, including bone formation as a fetus and during childhood, and the level of exercise the bones have experienced over the years. During the first 20 years of a person's life, the formation of bone is important. However, after 20 years, the prevention of bone loss becomes vital. Anything that might lead to decreased bone formation early in life, or loss of bone structure later in life, can lead to fragile bones and osteoporosis. That is why it is a necessity to take good care of your bones when you are both young and old.
             When humans are still in the stages of fetal development and infancy, there is the rapid formation of bone mass. This slows down during childhood until around age 11 for girls and age 12-13 for boys. During the adolescent "growth spurt," there is a big jump in the formation of bone. The majority of adult bone mass levels are achieved by age 18 or 19, with small amounts of bone added until age 28. There are also environmental factors that play into the normal formation of human bone. Physical activity and proper nutrition are the most important of these factors. Low activity levels and poor diet during the years of bone formation can prevent the normal growth of bones and cause them to be less dense than they should be. Cigarette smoking during these years can also decrease the amount of bone that is formed. People affected by any of these fa...