A New York study found that charedi teenagers in Brooklyn --
especially the boys -- suffer from significantly lower bone
mineral density (BMD) than their non-charedi
counterparts.
Osteoporosis expert Dr. Yossi Foldes said he recommended
that the hypothesis that a charedi childhood can lead to
thin bones be studied among a similar group in Israel. "It
is a very interesting finding," said Foldes of the Jerusalem
Osteoporosis Center at Hadassah-University Hospital on Mount
Scopus.
The article, called "Reduced Spinal Bone Mineral Density in
Adolescents of an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Community in
Brooklyn" and written by Drs. Wael Taha, Daisy Chin, Arnold
Silverberg, Larisa Lashiker, and Henry Anhalt, of Broklyn's
Maimonides Medical Center, and Dr. Naila Khateeb, of Byrd
Regional Hospital in Louisiana, examined 30 chareidi boys
and 20 chareidi girls 15 to 19.
The authors, who used a device to check bone density and
conducted a physical examination of each volunteer, found
that BMD in the boys was "significantly decreased in ultra-
Orthodox Jewish adolescents," and that the males had
"profoundly lower spinal BMD" than the girls.
Since adolescence is the time of peak bone mass growth, with
the maximal accrual rate occurring in early to mid-puberty
and slowing in late puberty, low bone density could lead to
osteoporosis decades later (the risk of this disease is
generally much higher in women than men).
The main causes of low bone density in teenagers are
inadequate physical activity, calcium intake, and vitamin D
stores (from sunlight conversion of precursors to vitamin D,
and to a lesser degree from dietary intake), the researchers
noted.
The charedi youngsters, especially the boys, were found to
get much less exercise than other teenagers and to remain
indoors studying for long hours; since their dress covers
most of their bodies, their skin is less exposed to sunlight
when they are outside.