Myth Buster: Men Don't Get Osteoporosis

MYTH: Only women get osteoporosis.

FACTS: Men account for 20 percent of the 10 million Americans who have osteoporosis, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Because women have smaller skeletons, they are more prone to osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue. Also, their drop in estrogen production at menopause means that a decline in bone mass strikes them earlier and more rapidly than it does men.

Still, men over age 50 carry a greater risk of suffering a fracture related to osteoporosis than of developing prostate cancer, according to the foundation.