EU must do more to fight osteoporosis epidemic, says actress

Award-winning actress Susan Hampshire has urged the EU to do more to help combat the "hidden condition" of osteopoporosis.
 
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, the award-winning Briton warned of a looming "epidemic', particularly affecting young people.

She said research showed that cases of osteoporosis, a disease of the bone that leads to increased risk of fracture, were more commonplace than both cancer and heart disease.

"This is a little known fact," she said. "But what is even less well known is the effect that modern life is having on the likelihood of young people contracting this condition.

"The lack, or complete absence, of a calcium-free diet, lack of exercise and the modern trend for 'binge' dieting all contribute to the onset of osteoporosis."

Hampshire, a familiar figure on British TV screens and who starred in BBC's blockbuster series The Forsythe Saga, is also well known in the UK for her campaign on dyslexia issues. She was undiagnosed with the condition until she was an adult.

She told a conference that she now hopes to raise public awareness on osteopororis as she has done for dyslexia.

"Health may not be an EU competence but I believe the EU has a crucial role to play in this field.

"Specifically, I want the EU to encourage member states to ensure that young people, in particular, are made aware of this issue and what can be done to prevent what, at present, is a hidden condition," said Hampshire, who is patron  of the British Osteoporosis Society.

She was addressing a conference at the Renaissance hotel organised by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) ahead of World Osteoporosis Day on 20 October.

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