One fifth of women in Thailand aged between 40 to 80 years suffer from osteoporosis, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says, prompting calls for people to drink more milk.
The disease causes bones to lose strength and density, with increasing incidents of hip fractures among females in this age group over the past 30 years, said Vinod Ahuja, an FAO livestock policy officer based in Bangkok.
One of the major culprits is insufficient calcium intake which is obtained from milk and dairy products.
Worldwide, osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million incidents of bone fractures annually (one every three seconds) the foundation report says.
In Thailand, the latest national survey by the National Statistical Office found people do not drink enough milk. The average 14 litres of milk consumption by a Thai person a year is four to seven times less than other Asean countries.
Drinking milk not only benefits physical growth and development for children and builds up a reserve of calcium for healthy bones preventing diseases, it also spurs local economies.
Thailand is predicted to slip into an ageing society in the near future as it is estimated that citizens aged 60 years and older will account for 19 million or one-third of the total population by 2030.
The government has expanded its campaigns encouraging milk consumption to include older people, who are equally in need of increasing their calcium reserves to stave off certain age-related conditions, such as osteoporosis. photos by Bangkok Post reporters
"It's long been known that the consumption of milk can be an effective treatment for child malnutrition. But there is also some evidence that introducing regular consumption of milk to older women and men in this region can be beneficial to those who have habitually low calcium intake which can lead to bone loss," Mr Vinod said.
The International Osteoporosis Foundation has reported the average dietary calcium intake in Asia is well below the FAO-WHO recommendation of 1,000-1,300 mg/day. The median dietary calcium intake for the adult Asian population is approximately 450 mg/day, with a potential detrimental impact on bone health.
Studies carried out across South Asia and Southeast Asia showed, with a few exceptions in some countries, a widespread prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in both sexes and all age groups of the population.
Insufficient calcium and protein intake is blamed for some Thai children not being physically fully developed in terms of their height, compared to children in some other countries in the region. As they grow older, they are vulnerable to suffering from osteoporosis which could cause bone or hip fractures as well as other health problems.
An expert in nutrition said Thais' under-consumption of milk may be explained in cultural and political contexts as people are traditionally not familiar with the diet where milk is part of the ingredients while the government advocates a rather "narrow" policy promoting milk drinking only in school for children and not expanding the campaign to adults.
Japan embraced dairy products, meaning milk in various forms, which began to be consumed as part of or alongside typical food by people from an early age.
However, in Thailand, the state policy focuses on feeding children milk through the school milk programme and so consumption is limited to school hours. Youngsters should drink milk at home while mature adults need to be encouraged to include milk in their routine diet both in the household and at work, Mr Vinod said.
But persuading older Thais to drink milk to avoid osteoporosis can be a challenge, said Atthaphon Kaewsamrit, deputy director-general of the Department of Health. He claimed milk remains "alien" to many Thais while osteoporosis is not among the government's priority diseases to tackle, unlike other non-communicable illnesses such as cancer and high-blood pressure.
Studies have also confirmed that hip fractures, which are costly to treat, can have deadly consequences if they are not treated correctly. In fact, it is the sixth leading cause of death in Thai women.
Of all women, as well as men, who sustained hip fractures and survived, 22% were non-ambulatory, 10% had to use gait-aids, and the remaining were impaired in their quality of life, even if they could walk independently, according to the studies.
Osteoporosis is heavily prevalent in rural areas where the elderly who break the
ir hips mostly from accidents were treated at home sometimes using herbal medicine with little or no curing properties, instead of receiving surgical treatment which helps them heal and recover faster.
Sa-nga Damapong, nutritionist at the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said an improvement in awareness and education of the Thai population, especially with regard to prevention of the osteoporosis, is the best public health strategy.
At the same time, there is an urgent need to to convince policy makers of the need to place fighting osteoporosis on the national health agenda and educating the public about the importance of keeping their bones strong as the country heads towards an ageing society.
"We can prevent osteoporosis now by starting to drink milk, which provides for an inexpensive source of calcium. It's better to do it now than be sorry later," Dr Atthapon said.
Mr Vinod, meanwhile, insisted it was time to widely share the benefits of consuming enough milk for the young and adults alike. Drinking milk is a simple way for people 50 years old or older to accumulate calcium not only to strengthen their bones but also systematically support the local economies.
The milk and dairy industry generates a great deal of jobs in the supply chain. From pasteurising to distributing milk to producing yoghurt, local farmers and vendors enjoy the fruit of their labour, which sustains the local economy.
LIFE SAVINGS
Milk is considered one of the best sources of calcium essential for growing and maintaining strong bones and teeth. Calcium is like personal savings; it needs time to build up. The body also needs calcium to regulate the heartbeat and to keep nerves and muscles functioning normally. Below is a tentative guide on how many cups of milk or how many servings of dairy food one should consume on a daily basis:
Children (6-8 years old) need 800 mg or about 3 servings of milk or dairy foods;
Children (9-11 years old) need 1,300 mg or about 4 servings of milk or dairy foods;
Teenagers and young adults (11-24 years old) need about 4 servings* of milk or dairy foods;
Adults (24-50 years old) need 1,000 mg of calcium a day or about 3 servings* of milk or dairy foods;
Adults (over 50 years) need even more calcium (because ageing can contribute to bone loss) at 1,200 mg of calcium each day or about 4 servings* of milk or dairy foods; and
Pregnant and lactating women need about 4 servings* of milk or dairy foods each day. Source: World Health Organisation
* 1 serving = 1 cup milk or yoghurt. 1½ cups ice cream or ice milk. 1½ ounces natural cheese. 1 cup frozen yoghurt. 2 ounces processed cheese.
Staff milk cows at a farm as Thais of all ages are encouraged to drink more milk, which is an affordable source of calcium, on a daily basis.
Milk is used to cheer up freshmen as an alternative to university hazing activities.