Tetra Pak and IOF to promote awareness on osteoporosis

The cooperation continues locally, after the recent international cooperation agreement between Tetra Pak and the IOF to promote awareness on how individuals can take responsibility for their bone health by healthy eating, staying active, and being aware of risk factors for osteoporosis. The IOF identifies milk and other dairy foods as being among the richest and most readily available dietary sources of calcium, an essential nutrient in building bones.

"Nourishing food and a healthy lifestyle play a vital role in building and keeping bones strong. In line with its motto, protects what's good, Tetra Pak will help the IOF in spreading its message of protecting bones through milk, healthy beverages and food consumption to a wider audience. We believe that this can be a valuable support in the work of the IOF member osteoporosis societies, which are active in more than 80 countries," remarked Dr. Salih Al-Ansari, General Director School Health (Boys) Ministry of Education "Osteoporosis is a disease of childhood, that manifests in later adulthood, where density of bone is reduced, increasing the risk of fracture. Around the world, it affects one in three women and one in five men over the age of fifty." Dr. Ansari added.

"In an adult, the bone compose of organic protein which represents 10 percent of the bone mass and minerals represent 65 percent; mainly calcium, phosphorus and water with a little of magnesium and sodium." Dr. Khalid Al-Madani, Consultant Nutritionist at the Ministry of Health and the Vice President of Saudi Society for Food and Nutrition, confirmed.

"As the rest of your body, your skeleton needs a well-balanced healthy diet to keep it fit and healthy. Moderation and variation is the key. It needs minerals and vitamins that milk provides. But that's not all, you still need to undertake physical exercise to keep healthy bones growing and strengthening because they suffer if you don't. So you should exercise at least three times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes each time," He added".

The IOF is an international NGO that seeks to advance the understanding of osteoporosis and to promote prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this disease worldwide - check website: www.iofbonehealth.org

Highlighting the importance of the cooperation with the IOF, Jörgen Haglind, Senior Vice President Communications for the Tetra Pak Group, stated: "Tetra Pak's motto, protects what's good, summarises the core business philosophy of the company as practiced in different ways in our business operations. We are supporting the IOF to express our commitment to help protect the health of consumers around the world."

Some of the activities under the agreement include the development of initiatives for the observance of World Osteoporosis Day (October 20). The theme of World Osteoporosis Day 2006 is Bone Appetit: The role of food and nutrition in building and maintaining strong bones.