Anlene Road Show concludes in UAE

Anlene, specialized adult milk, and the Dubai Bone & Joint Center (DBAJ), set-up the Road Show in October 2008. Since then, 4,300 individuals across 30 venues have been screened to evaluate their risk of developing osteoporosis.

"We are very pleased with the number of people who have participated in this initiative," said Rola Sullivan, Marketing Director, Fonterra Brands M.E. "With the valuable support of the DBAJ center, we were able to educate the community on how to prevent this silent and crippling disease. We will definitely not stop here as this is a long-term initiative. Details of the 2009 free bone scanning campaign will be released shortly."

The Anlene Road Show was a condensed two month campaign to commemorate World Osteoporosis Day 2008. The Road Show was part of a wider and more comprehensive campaign called the Anlene Bone Health Check. The Anlene Bone Health Check aims to screen approximately 25,000 individuals in the UAE and another 50,000 people in Saudi Arabia next year.

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by weakened bones, increasing the risk of fracture. Osteoporosis is a major cause of disability, loss of independence and in some cases, death. It is estimated that 70% of post menopausal women in the UAE have low bone mass. Possible reasons for the UAE's high rate of osteoporosis include a low calcium intake leading to a lower peak bone mass; low physical activity; and a high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency.

Dr. Humeira Badsha, Consultant Rheumatologist at DBAJ, said:

"Maintaining optimum bone health at every life stage is pivotal in preventing osteoporosis. Bones can begin to break down from as early as 25 years of age."

"Last year's results revealed a high prevalence of osteoporosis in the UAE, with 27% registering low bone mass. Education is the key to combating the disease and is one of the main objectives of World Osteoporosis Day," Dr. Badsha added.

To prevent osteoporosis an individual needs to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy diet. Two main factors that could lead to osteoporosis is the lack of calcium and vitamin D; according to U.S DRI (recommended intake) a woman needs 1,000mg of calcium and 200IU of Vitamin D per day. Two glasses of Anlene per day, contains 100% of Cal and Vit D (US, Dietary Reference Intake - DRI) with the ingredient Phyto K to help lock in the nutrients.