Knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors among college women concerning the prevention of osteoporosis
M. J. Kasper, M. G. Peterson, J. P. Allegrante, T. D. Galsworthy and B. Gutin
Department of Physical Education, College of Education and Professional Studies, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of osteoporosis risk factors among young
women, their beliefs about the disease, and to what extent they practice
preventive behaviors, such as adequate calcium intake and physical
activity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: One hundred
twenty-seven women (mean age, 19.6 years; 92% were white) enrolled in a
required undergraduate health course at a midwestern state university.
RESULTS: One hundred fourteen (90%) of the survey respondents had heard
about osteoporosis, but only 49 (43%) of the 114 had received information
from either a health care provider or a school. There was a significant
relationship between receiving osteoporosis information and the ability to
correctly identify risk factors (P < or = .006). Only 6.7% of the women
reported getting both adequate "osteoprotective" exercise per week and the
recommended 1200 mg of calcium per day. Respondents believed that it was
unlikely that osteoporosis would develop in them. They also expressed less
responsibility and concern about osteoporosis and believed that it is less
serious than other common causes of morbidity and mortality in women, such
as heart disease and breast cancer (P < or = .02). There was no
significant relationship between risk-factor identification and exercise
habits, calcium intake, or beliefs about osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: The
majority of young women are not consuming the recommended daily amount of
calcium and are lacking sufficient osteoprotective exercise for building
healthy bone. Health care providers and educational institutions either
have missed opportunities to educate young women about osteoporosis or such
information has not been received and retained. Increasing levels of
osteoporosis awareness may not be associated with influencing beliefs or
behaviors. However, because of the importance of building an adequate bone
mass in early life, our data suggest that the development and evaluation of
comprehensive osteoporosis educational interventions targeted at younger
women are warranted.
