There’s dowager hump. Now dowager bump?

Tabloids seem to have their eyes peeled for celebrity “bumps”. In other words, is so-and-so pregnant? Who named it the “bump” I don’t know, but it obviously is very descriptive of one’s physical shape. I suppose that’s why older women with osteoporosis are said to have a “dowager hump”. In very severe cases, older women become hunched over, forcing a protrusion of of the vertebrae, which, in some, can be very debilitating. So, prevention is the name of the game for women before they start losing bone mass. Getting enough calcium and vitamin D is paramount. While they can eat good sources of calcium from dairy products, canned fish with bones, and dark leafy vegetables, getting enough vitamin D is harder to do through diet alone. That’s why taking a vitamin D supplement is a good idea. Talk with your doctor to see how much he or she believes you should be taking. And while you’re protecting your bones with vitamin D, it’s also thought that it is protective against a number of our killer diseases.

And now to the “dowager bump”. Many older women tend to look like they’re a couple of months pregnant. With the loss of estrogen after menopause, the fat that used to get deposited on the hips starts gravitating to the belly. When that starts to happen, women should consider that a wake-up call. Total number of calories for the day needs to be reduced and exercise needs to be increased.

As women get older, they shouldn’t look at getting the “hump and the bump” an inevitability. You do have control, but it’s going to take more work than it did when you were younger. That’s just a fact of life. Staying healthy as you age becomes a job, one that you have to work at every day. Yet, the compensation package that comes with such a job, that of improved quality of life and hopefully quantity of life, is well worth the time.