"We hope the community would become more aware of bone health. Let us implement a healthy lifestyle together," Head of the Sports Health Work Team of the Ministry of Health, Ari Setyaningrum, stated here on Thursday.
She explained that osteoporosis is one of the noncommunicable diseases that not only burdened the economy but also decreased work productivity since, in general, the treatment of osteoporosis patients took a long time.
Setyaningrum further drew attention to several steps that can be taken to maintain bone health, such as increasing physical activity through proper, measurable, and regular exercise. Exercise can be done at least 30 minutes per day and thrice to five times each week.
"The (forms of) exercise includes aerobics, strength, flexibility, and balance training. These need to be done in order to optimize physical health," she emphasized.
Apart from scaling up physical activity, the community is also urged to continue to follow a healthy, nutritious diet. She called on the community to consume foods containing calcium, protein, vitamins, mineral, and magnesium that are essential for bone health.
In addition, getting vitamin D from adequate sun exposure as well as avoiding cigarettes and alcohol are some of the efforts to prevent osteoporosis.
Individuals already having risk factors, such as age, family history, and long-term medicine consumption, are also urged to be more aware of the disease.
"We must detect it early on for prevention," she pointed out.
Lastly, she advised people to maintain a healthy weight as part of preventive efforts.
Setyaningrum assessed that World Osteoporosis Day, commemorated every October 20, must become a reminder to prevent and control osteoporosis jointly.
"Osteoporosis is a silent disease. Thus, we must make efforts with partners and other stakeholders to prevent and control it," she remarked.
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Translator: Nanien Yuniar, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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