A majority of Americans are unaware of key facts concerning healthy bones, and also lack important knowledge about health risks related to bone disease. Those are among the key findings of a new study conducted for GTC Nutrition, Golden, CO. The survey, performed by Opinion Research Corp., included 1031 adults in the U.S. who were contacted by telephone and asked to provide unaided and aided responses to questions concerning bone health.

The study found that 86% of Americans believe that women are at greater risk from breast cancer, ovarian cancer or uterine cancer than from fractures linked to osteoporosis. In fact, a woman’s risk of an osteoporotic fracture is greater than from all three cancers combined. Even though calcium is critical for building bone mass, more than half (55%) of the 1,031 survey respondents were unaware that the body absorbs only about 30% of the calcium consumed through diet. A variety of factors determine how much dietary calcium is absorbed by each individual, including age, gender and digestive health. The survey also found that most Americans underestimate the percentage of young women who are not getting enough calcium during the peak bone-building years. Although studies show 90% of girls aged 12 to 19 are not getting enough calcium, more than two-thirds of all respondents to the GTC Nutrition survey weren’t aware of the extent of this shortfall, including 66% of the respondents with children in their households.

“These survey findings, while concerning, underscore the opportunity Americans have to increase their overall health and well-being by learning more about bone health and the factors that influence it, including calcium absorption,” said Coni Francis, PhD, RD, scientific affairs manager, GTC Nutrition. “Our goal is to help consumers be more aware of the risks and also realize the easy choices they can make in the supermarket aisle to help build stronger bones.”

Building healthy bones requires not only consuming a diet rich in calcium, Dr. Francis said, but also taking steps to ensure sufficient calcium is absorbed. NutraFlora, GTC Nutrition’s short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS) prebiotic dietary fiber, has been shown to significantly increase calcium absorption, helping to build bone mass and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.