Bones do not ask for attention the way other parts of the body do. There is no ache that shows up early, no warning sign that tells you something is changing underneath the surface. That quietness is part of why osteoporosis has earned the nickname the silent epidemic, and why so many myths about it have been allowed to stick around for far longer than they should. World Osteoporosis Day falls on the 20th of October, and it exists for one simple reason, to get people talking about bone health before a fracture forces the conversation.
Is it just part of getting older?
This is the biggest misconception of all, and it is the one the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa (NOFSA) points to most often, as also sighted in this News24 article. Age does raise your risk, that part is true, but osteoporosis is not an inevitable stop on the road to getting older. It develops because bone is being broken down faster than the body can rebuild it, and that process is shaped heavily by nutrition, activity, and lifestyle choices made over many years. NOFSA estimates it affects between four and six million South Africans, with around one in three women and one in five men expected to develop it in their lifetime, and stresses that it can be prevented with the right habits, not simply accepted as a given.
The myth that only women need to worry
Osteoporosis is often talked about as a women’s condition, and women are affected more. But NOFSA puts the figure for men at roughly one in five, which is far from rare. Because it is so rarely discussed in men, it tends to get diagnosed later, often only after a fracture has already happened. Bone health is not a women’s issue with a few male exceptions. It is a human issue that men are simply less likely to be screened for.
Would you know if your bones were weakening?
There is no early ache, no stiffness, no obvious sign that bone density is dropping. Most people find out something is wrong only after they fracture a bone, sometimes from something as small as a stumble or a cough. That is what makes this disease genuinely dangerous, not that it is severe on its own, but that it hides so well until the moment it does not. This is exactly why screening matters more than waiting for symptoms that may never come until it is too late to prevent damage.
Plenty of sunshine doesn’t means plenty of vitamin D
South Africa gets more sunshine than most countries, so it is easy to assume vitamin D deficiency is somebody else’s problem. In reality, plenty of South Africans are still low in vitamin D, often because of time spent indoors, sunscreen use, darker skin naturally producing it more slowly, or simply not being outside during the hours that matter. Vitamin D is what allows the body to absorb calcium, so being short on it undermines bone strength no matter how much calcium you are eating. Sunshine outside your window does not automatically mean your body is getting what it needs.
The myth that bone health only matters later in life
Most people do not think about their bones until they are older, but bone density is largely built in childhood, the teenage years, and early adulthood. The body reaches its peak bone mass by around age thirty, and everything after that is mostly about how well that foundation is protected and maintained. Habits formed decades before a diagnosis, like getting enough calcium as a teenager or staying physically active in your twenties, have a direct effect on how strong your bones are much later in life. Prevention is not something to think about someday. It starts far earlier than most people realise.
Here’s what really helps
None of this requires anything complicated. Weight bearing exercise, the kind where your body works against gravity, such as walking, dancing, or resistance training, genuinely strengthens bone over time. Calcium matters, found in dairy, leafy greens, and fortified foods, but only alongside enough vitamin D to help the body use it properly. Cutting back on smoking and heavy drinking protects bone density too, since both interfere with the body’s ability to rebuild bone effectively. And for anyone with risk factors, whether that is family history, age, or early signs of concern, a bone density scan can catch changes long before a fracture ever happens.
The bottom line
Bone loss is quiet, but it is not unavoidable, and it is not something only older women need to think about. Knowing the real facts, rather than the assumptions most of us grew up with, is often the difference between catching something early and only finding out after a fracture had changed everything.
At Affinity Health, we believe getting checked and getting the right care should never come down to what you can afford in the moment. If it has been a while since you thought about your bone health, or you have simply never thought about it at all, this is a good reminder to start.
