Healthy Bones Action Week

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Healthy Bones Action Week

Celebrate Healthy Bones Week annually in August

Dairy’s annual Healthy Bones Action Week in August inspires Australians to take action to protect their bones—starting today, for a stronger tomorrow.

This year Healthy Bones Action Week is held from 3 – 9 August. It’s an Australian Dairy initiative held each August, encouraging Australians to take simple steps to protect their bone health.

Bones stop growing around age 18, but peak bone density isn’t reached until the late 20s. After that, we can only maintain what we've built so a calcium-rich diet is essential throughout life to help prevent osteoporosis later in life.

So how much dairy do you really need? The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommends adults (19-50) consume 2.5 serves of dairy.

For women over 50, the recommended daily serves is 4 serves.

Why do women over 50 need more dairy?

During menopause, there is a rapid decline in oestrogen levels. Oestrogen helps protect bones, so when levels drop, women become more vulnerable to bone loss, brittle bones and, in severe cases, osteoporosis. This can lead to fractures, which significantly impact health and independence. The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend the increase in dairy serves for higher calcium intake.

Learn more

3 actions to support healthy bones

1. Enjoy calcium rich dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt

Milk, cheese and yoghurt aren’t just fridge staples, they’re an easy way to boost calcium and protein, both essential for strong bones and muscles

2. Move your body with weight bearing exercises

Bone-strengthening doesn’t always have to mean a gym session. Simple, weight-bearing activities like walking the dog, gardening, or even dancing in the kitchen all count. Stick to what feels fun and doable—maybe even give something new a try (hello, pickleball!).

3. Get safe sun exposure

Sunlight helps your body produce vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption. The amount of safe sun exposure needed varies depending on where you live and the time of year. According to Healthy Bones Australia, sun exposure times are based on the season, location within Australia, skin type and the amount of skin exposed. Sun exposure for vitamin D should be balanced with skin protection.*

For more information please visit: Healthy Bones Australia

*Skin protection includes 5 ways – Slip on clothing, Slop on sunscreen, Slap on a hat, Seek shade, Slide on sunglasses.

Take the challenge this Healthy Bones Action Week

Looking for simple ways to support your bone health? The 7 Ways in 7 Days: Dairy Serves Challenge encourages you to meet your recommended dairy serves each day while building habits that can last well beyond the week. Read through the seven ways below and get ready to take part by following @AustralianDairy on Instagram.