What is the cause of osteoporosis?
We don’t know a lot about what causes osteoporosis. We do know how osteoporosis develops throughout a person’s life. Bones are complex, living tissue. Your body constantly breaks down old bone and rebuilds new bone. This bone-building process is called “remodeling.” As you are growing up, your body builds more bone than it removes. During childhood, your bones become larger and stronger. Peak bone mass occurs when you have the maximum amount of bone mass you will ever have. For most people, this usually happens during the third decade of life. Then, at a certain age, the bone remodeling process changes. New bone gets laid down at a slower rate. This slowdown results in a decrease in the total amount of bone you have. If this loss of bone reaches a certain point, you have osteopenia. When bone loss becomes more severe, you have osteoporosis. Both men and women with osteopenia or osteoporosis are at a higher risk of fractures. In the early stages of osteoporosis, there may be no signs or
