UTHSCSA PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES COMMUNITY MEDICINE PROJECT
Women Standing Strong
Bone physiology

Bone Mass

Clip art - New bone is added faster than old bone is lostMaria explains to her friends that during childhood and the teen years, new bone is added to our skeleton faster than old bone is removed. This creates large, strong, dense bones.

Bone formation occurs at a faster rate than bone removal until peak bone mass is reached by age 35.

Bone mass is the total amount of bone in the body and it is important to know that nearly half of all the bone mass is formed during the teen years.

After age 35, bone removal exceeds bone formation. If bone removal occurs too quickly and replacement occurs too slowly osteoporosis develops.

To prevent osteoporosis, it is imperative to reach the maximum peak bone mass during the teen years. This is accomplished by increasing daily intake of calcium and participating in weight bearing activities.

 


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Physician Assistant Studies All rights reserved. Created May 2003; updated 19 May 2003.
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