Jump Start Your Bones©: A School-based Osteoporosis Prevention
Program Volume 6, No. 3, Fall 2001 Kathleen Klotzbach-Shimomura
and Debra Palmer Keenan Attaining peak bone mass during
adolescence is a key determinant in reducing the risk of
osteoporosis in later years. Educating adolescents as to the
importance of consuming at least four calcium rich foods daily
and participating in physical activity for at least one hour
each day can greatly advance osteoporosis prevention. Rutgers
Cooperative Extension responded by developing a school-based
curriculum, called Jump Start Your Bones©, targeted to seventh-
and eighth-grade youth. The curriculum contains a total of 12
lessons, designed to be used in Family and Consumer Sciences,
Health, Physical Education, and Life Science classrooms, three
lessons per discipline. This osteoporosis curriculum uses hands-
on activities to increase knowledge and change behavior in youth
aimed toward increasing accumulation of peak bone mass density.
Rationale for Program Osteoporos