This is why elderly should increase their yogurt intake!

London: Researchers have said that older adults should increase the consumption of yogurt as it is associated with a higher hip bone density and can reduce risk of developing osteoporosis in older men and women.

Osteoporosis is a chronic condition associated with a reduction in bone strength and an increased risk of bone fracture.

The findings showed that each unit increase in yogurt intake in women was associated with a 31 per cent lower risk of osteopenia -- a condition that occurs when the body does not make new bone -- and a 39 per cent lower risk of osteoporosis.

Conversely in men, intake of yogurt led to a 52 per cent lower risk of osteoporosis.

Lead author Eamon Laird from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. "Yogurt is a rich source of different bone promoting nutrients. The data suggests that improving yogurt intakes could be a strategy for maintaining bone health."

Further, total hip and femoral neck bone mineral density measures in females was 3.1-3.9 per cent higher among those with the highest yogurt intakes.

In men, the biomarker of bone breakdown was 9.5 per cent lower in those with the highest yogurt intakes. This is an indication of reduced bone turnover, the researchers said in the paper appearing in the journal Osteoporosis International.

Miriam Casey, Consultant Physician at St. James's Hospital in Dublin added, "The results demonstrate a significant association of bone health and frailty with a relatively simple and cheap food product. However, we still don't understand the exact mechanisms which could be due to the benefits of micro-biota or the macro and micro nutrient composition of the yogurt."

For the study, the team included 1,057 women and 763 men who underwent a bone-mineral-density (BMD) assessment and 2,624 women and 1,290 men who had their physical functions measured.

(With IANS inputs)