'The Breakfast Club': Bone Health

The Breakfast Club was a movie released in 1985 about 5 teenagers in school detention. John Hughes wrote, directed, and produced the movie, which was digitally remastered in 2015 for a 30th anniversary release in theaters. Hughes' original title for the movie was to be the Lunch Bunch, but he heard a colleague refer to detention as the breakfast club and so the name stuck. In 2015, the movie was preserved at the Library of Congress for its contribution to society in the areas of culture, history, and aesthetics. In the 1940's, cereal manufacturers promoted the concept that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. A recent study from Japan may prove this to be true for our bones! How can we maintain healthy bones? Bone loss is a gradual and silent condition until the loss is severe enough to see broken bones or factures. Sometimes minor falls or even coughing can be enough to break a bone. The loss of bone in the spine can result in significant back pain and can shorten one's stature. As we age, we lose bone and bone mineral density (BMD) decreases. Women after menopause have a significant risk of bone loss compared to men of the same age. Besides gender and age, other risk factors include a family history of osteoporosis (loss of bone), physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol intake, diets low in calcium and vitamin D, and non-Hispanic white women and Asian women. BMD is a measure of minerals in our bones and gives an indication of bone thickness or density. The measurement is evaluating mineral composition of the bone including the 2 most common minerals of calcium and phosphorus. The best way to know if you have bone loss is to be screened. This can be done with a small machine using ultrasound to estimate bone density in areas like the heel and forearm. These tools are helpful for screening who may need more diagnostic evaluations. Further workups would include a DEXA (dual x-ray absorptiometry) scan of the hips and spine to measure thickness and strength of the bone. Breakfast may help to improve bone health. A study published in 2025 demonstrated that skipping breakfast more than 3 times a week and eating dinner less than 2 hours before bed can lead to osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporotic fractures are breaks in bones that occur with minimal trauma, such as falling. These falls often affect the hip, forearm, vertebrae in the spine, and humerus in the upper arm between the shoulder and elbow. Skipping breakfast may lower vitamin D and calcium intake, which keeps your bones strong. Eating a late dinner can raise stress hormones, put strain on the body, and make it harder for your bones to stay strong. The study had 927,130 people fill out a health questionnaire about their lifestyle and everyday lives. Men and women who were 20 years and older were followed for 2.6 years. When the researchers followed up, they found 28,196 fractures had occurred. The researchers noted a strong association with skipping breakfast and an increased fracture risk. They found a similar association with eating late dinners and fracture risk. If both risks were combined, patients had the highest risk of fractures. The researchers demonstrated the known risk of smoking with an increased risk of facture. The study confirmed that fast walking, exercise, and adequate sleep can reduce the risk of bones breaking. Make sure to eat a balanced breakfast and eat more than 2 hours before bed to help to keep your bones stronger and reduce the risk of a fracture. Breakfast is an important meal for the day! If you are interested in more information please call ONU HealthWise Pharmacy at 419-722-3784. ONU HealthWise does offer the shingles vaccine along with RSV, flu, COVID-19 and other vaccinations. The pharmacy is open at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. weekdays, while also closing for lunch from 1-2 p.m. Saturdays they are open 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Maura Bodman and Jeevan Jyoti are student pharmacists and Karen Kier is a pharmacist, all three with ONU Healthwise Pharmacy.