ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis has affected more than 20 million American, women, completely altering their way of life. Osteoporosis is highly preventable if steps are taken to build healthy bone; however, many college students do not have lifestyle habits that have a positive effect on their bones. For this study, a questionnaire was used to investigate childhood dairy consumption, high school sport participation, dieting behaviors, eating behaviors and bone mineral density levels of college women at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Eighty percent of the participants were Caucasian or of Asian descent, while 20% were of other races; 34% of the participants consumed three or more servings of milk a day as children, while current calcium consumption was at an average of 16 servings a week. Many of the participants were active in high school, as 67% participated in high school sports. Fifty-two percent of the college women in the sample had dieted in the past year, and 44% perceived they were not at a desirable weight. Forty-five percent skip more than three meals a week. Of the participants, two had osteoporosis and 23 had osteopenia. Clearly, development of osteoporosis is not limited to older adults, and college women are in need of education related to bone health.
