TWO OUT OF EVERY FIVE INDONESIANS PRONE TO OSTEOPOROSIS

Jakarta, Oct 25 (ANTARA) - Two out of every five Indonesians were reported to suffer from osteoporosis caused by the lack of calcium which tended to make their bones porous, a senior official said.

In observance of the National Osteoporosis Day here on Sunday evening, Disease Control and Healthy Environment Director General Tjandra Yoga Aditama said that 41.8 percent of men and 90 percent of women in Indonesia had symptoms of osteoporosis.

"In the meantime, 28.8 percent of men and 32.3 percent of women are currently suffering from osteoporosis," he told thousands of people engaged in morning exercises and fun walk as one way to prevent osteoporosis.

Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih who was also present on the occasion said that osteoporosis was a degenerative disease which in the past few years had become a health problem in Indonesia.

According to her, a degenerative process occurs along with aging and cannot be avoided, except by detecting the risk factor.

Preventing osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases could be done by consuming nutritious food and doing sports at least twice a week for 30 minutes on a regular basis, the minister said.
Walking or jogging was one of the sports which had a low risk and easy to do. But more importantly, someone should avoid smoking, consuming alcoholic drinks and drugs, she added.

Furthermore Tjandra explained that the government was currently attempting to overcome osteoporosis by manual or guidance on preventing and handling the disease and launch campaigns on National Osteoporosis Day every year.

This year, the peak of Osteoporousis Day was observed by gymnastic activities and massive fun walks in 24 cities including Jakarta, Padang, Pekanbaru, Batam, Lampung, Denpasar, Lombok, Surabaya, Manada and Makassar.