Anlene, a dairy products brand specially formulated for adults’ bone health, is offering free bone scanning sessions for a limited time in Bahrain.

The free service is being offered from 4pm to 10pm each day at the Lulu Hypermarket in Riffa over the next few weeks.

Regular bone scanning, along with a calcium-rich diet, exercise and vitamin D intake, can help prevent osteoporosis – a disease that can cause bones to break down, leading to painful fractures, possible permanent disability and even death in some cases.

Women are particularly susceptible to bone related diseases for a range of hormonal and lifestyle reasons, a statement said.

Statistics released by Anlene recently as part of its Lifestyle for Lifelong Bones research, showed 60 per cent of women take only one hour of exercise or less a week, and nearly 20 per cent are never exposed to the sun, which is vital to source essential levels of vitamin D.

“The Middle East climate and lifestyle doesn’t encourage families to spend time outside exercising so the disease is a real problem particularly amongst women in the region,” said Dr Humeira Badsha, UAE rheumatology specialist, and an Anlene Bone Health ambassador.

“This lack of exercise coupled with low levels of vitamin D absorption means that women are already very susceptible to the disease, so it is really important that they take the opportunity to have a convenient, non-invasive bone assessment. It can’t be stressed enough that this is a disease that once it develops it can only be managed.”

The team behind Anlene said that women are ignoring what is perceived as an elderly woman’s disease as they are unaware that preventative action is the most effective when started earlier on in life.

As a result, they are taking action by introducing bone scanning sessions provided through its Anlene Bone Health Check programme that has been running in the Middle East for over six years.

The journey begins with a quick and painless ultrasound heel scan that takes just a few minutes to complete. Patients are then immediately given an indication of their bone health and a nutritionist is on-hand to offer advice on how to maintain healthy bones.

Depending on their bone health results, consumers may be offered lifestyle and diet tips to boost their bone health along their journey to better bone health.

Kamal Gupta, managing director, Fonterra Brands Middle East and Africa, makers of the Anlene range, said its research and frequent bone scanning is just one of a number of ongoing programmes Anlene is undertaking in the region to try and keep one step ahead of the disease.

“Our recent research has shown that lifestyle choices in the region could impact significantly on the number of women who develop the disease, so we are increasing the frequency of our bone scanning to reflect this and try and help women now,” he said.

“As women are under increasing pressure to prioritise so many areas of their lives, we are working with supermarkets and malls to ensure bone scanning is available in convenient locations to ensure women have the opportunity to take control of their bone health,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service