India, Sept. 25 -- It often begins with a fall - not a dramatic fall, just a stumble in the bathroom, a missed step on the stairs, or a fall while getting out of bed. For an older person, a broken hip or spine can change life in an instant. Hospitalisation follows, then surgery, physiotherapy and weeks or months of recovery. Such fractures are called fragility fractures - occurring after a minor fall or injury because the bones have become weak, usually due to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis means "porous bones". Bones gradually lose strength, sometimes over years, before announcing this with a fracture. We tend to think of osteoporosis as a disease of old age. In reality, bone health is built over a lifetime, and the consequences of poor bon...