THE COLOUR IS GRAY

By CAROLYN POIROT

McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

It's no wonder that most consumers and many doctors consider osteoporosis a "women's health" issue: More than 8 million women in this country suffer from it.

It's often termed "postmenopausal" osteoporosis, and for years the only medical treatment was female hormone replacement therapy.

But more than 2 million men have osteoporosis, too. And an additional 12 million have lower than normal bone density, or osteopenia, putting them at increased risk for osteoporosis.

"Osteoporosis is a significant problem in men and much less appreciated than it is in women," says Dr. Glenn Cunningham, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"Prevalence and fracture rates are not as great. However, when men have a hip fracture, it is really devastating. One-third are dead within a year."

Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures annually, including 300,000 hip fractures, about 30 percent of them in men.

However, neither the National Osteoporosis Foundation nor the U.S. Preventive Health Services Task Force mentions men in its screening guidelines.

And most insurance, including Medicare, will pay for screening only in men who have already broken a hip, wrist or vertebra, or who are at particularly high risk because of certain other diseases or long-term use of certain medications.

Osteoporosis traditionally has not been something men worry about, perhaps because men traditionally haven't lived long enough to get it, said Dr. Edward Katz, a rheumatologist at the Arthritis and Pain Center in Fredericksburg.

The onset of osteoporosis typically happens later in men than in women for a few reasons. Men typically have a larger bone mass than women and therefore have a greater reserve when bone loss starts to accelerate, Katz said. Men also don't lose hormonal support until later in life, said Dr. Louis Levitt, an orthopedic surgeon in Washington.

But by age 65 or 70, men are losing bone mass as fast as women, says the NIH.

"Men are living longer now," Levitt said, "so diseases like osteoporosis are becoming more of a factor for them."

New drugs for treating osteoporosis have been developed in the past 15 years that, unlike estrogen supplements, work just as well for both sexes.

The condition was once treated primarily with calcium supplements and estrogen replacement therapy. But osteoporosis is now treated most often with drugs known as bisphosphonates, along with calcium and vitamin D.

-Becky Piedel contributed to this report.

Labels: News

The European Union yesterday moved to impose standard nutritional information in food labelling across 27 countries in an attempt to counter the epidemic of obesity in Europe, but disappointed some UK health charities by not making the "traffic light" system mandatory.

Under new rules unveiled by the European commission, all prepackaged food will need to clearly display amounts of sugar, salt, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, and energy on the front of packaging.

The new rules, announced by Markos Kyprianou, the EU's health commissioner, represented a defeat for Europe's powerful food industry, which lobbied heavily for a system of self-regulation.

The alcohol industry, however, scored a victory by being exempted from the measures, with the exception of "alcopops". Their packaging will need to list ingredients.

On food products, provided the mandatory information was displayed clearly on the front of food packaging, individual countries would be free to opt for their own display systems, Kyprianou said.

Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation expressed disappointment that the EU had not imposed the traffic light system. The system uses red, amber and green dots to signal levels of salt, sugar and fat. The main alternative system is the guideline daily amount (GDA) system.

Tesco has refused to back a traffic light system because of anxieties about red labels putting off customers and uses monochrome GDA signposts instead. Sainsbury's uses a traffic light system; Asda and Waitrose back a hybrid system.

Kyprianou appeared to favour GDA but left it to the individual countries. "We allow flexibility," he said. There were arguments "for and against" the traffic light system.

"It can lead to oversimplification. We don't want to make decisions for the consumer. We want the consumer to have the information."

But Ruairi O'Connor, policy and public affairs manager at the British Heart Foundation, said: "We believe the European commission should have gone a step further and backed mandatory colour-coded traffic lights on food labels. Research shows that these are more effective than GDA labels in helping people see what's in the food they buy."

Phaedra Neal, of Diabetes UK, said: "The commission is right to recognise the importance of clear, front-of-pack labelling to help consumers make healthier food choices.

"But it has ignored evidence which shows the traffic light system works better than the GDA percentage system in allowing people to assess nutrient content and compare different products."

The Food Standards Agency said it was launching consultations with all "stakeholders" in Britain on the plans.

Labels: News

Mark Spall, 11, and his mother Marissa are among families who have been helped by the programme

This week it emerged Sussex is sitting on an obesity timebomb with large numbers of children and adults being classed as dangerousy overweight. One Sussex MP believes it is time the NHS made gym membership affordable for all.

SIOBHAN RYAN reports.

A number of MPs have called for gym exercise to be made available on the NHS for those who can't afford the membership fees.

Hastings and Rye MP Michael Foster believes tax relief on gym membership fees would be another incentive for those unsure about making the commitment.

He said: "The tax system is a useful way of encouraging people into good behaviour.

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"Daube" is the French word for a meat stew cooked in a tightly covered dish.

1/4 pound salt pork
1 1/2 pounds beef boneless chuck, tip or round
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, cut into fourths
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives
Minced parsley
French bread

Remove rind from salt pork; cut pork into 1/4-inch slices. Cut beef into 1-inch cubes. Fry salt pork in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp; remove with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels. Cook and stir beef in hot fat until brown, about 15 minutes.

Drain fat. Add wine, water, garlic, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper and bay leaf. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Stir in salt pork, carrots, onions and olives. Cover and simmer until beef and vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

Remove bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve in bowls with French bread for dipping.

Yields 6 servings.

Labels: Food n Drink Recipes

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