Strengthening your bones is not something that can happen overnight, it takes years for your body to build strong bones and even then, it is natural for them to lose their dexterity. All you can do is keep your body healthy to make sure it is prepared for any unexpected situations. For years, many older adults have been told to take vitamin D and calcium supplements to keep their bones strong and prevent falls. However, a new report from U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is changing that advice. This report suggests that for most older people, these supplements don't actually prevent falls or broken bones. This might be surprising news, we must understand why falls happen more often as we age, what vitamin D and calcium do in the body, and most importantly, what you can do to stay safe and prevent fractures.

What the Report Says

According to the report, vitamin D supplements don't seem to help prevent falls or broken bones for most people over 60. They also found that these supplements, especially with calcium, might increase the risk of kidney stones. This report doesn't mean people with weak bones (osteoporosis), low vitamin D, or who take vitamin D for other health reasons shouldn't take it. It just means that for most healthy older people, these supplements don't prevent falls and fractures.

Why Older People Fall and Break Bones More Easily

There are many reasons why older people are more prone to breaking their bones. Our bones are strongest when we're in our 20s and 30s, and they get weaker as we age so naturally, they can break easily. It can also be harder to move around as we get older, sometimes because of problems like arthritis this can affect how we walk and make us less steady.

There are also different issues like neuropathy, which is a nerve problem that can also make it harder to feel your feet and keep your balance. Eyesight is also a culprit as it can cause you to feel dizzy and fall. Some medicines can also make people feel unsteady, and older people often take more medicines than younger people. Low vitamin D itself can also increase the risk of falls, so keeping vitamin D levels up is still important.

Better Ways To Protect Your Bone Health

USPSTF recommends a few better ways to protect your bone health and prevent broken bones and falls.

Walk Regularly

Regular walks strengthen your muscles and bones, which helps you stay steady on your feet. It is as simple as practice makes perfect so the more you walk, the better it is. Walking also improves your balance, making you less likely to fall.

Do Strength Training

Strength training, like lifting weights or using resistance bands, makes your bones stronger and helps prevent fractures if you do fall. It is like a safety cushion, but you must be careful while doing so because it can lead to injuries if done too much.

Practice Balance

Activities like tai chi, Pilates, and yoga can improve your balance and coordination, making you more stable and less prone to falls. These can also help you improve your muscle flexibility and strength that in turn helps your body be stronger.

Check Your Medicines

If you have osteoporosis, talk to your doctor about medications that can help strengthen your bones and lower your risk of fractures. Many medications can also have unsavory side effects like weakened joints, losing muscle strength, etc.

Eat Enough Protein

A proper diet goes a long way when it comes to your entire body health. So to keep up with your body’s nutrition and muscle health, eat more protein along with a balanced meal that includes loads of fiber, healthy fats and carbs.

Get Your Eyes Checked

Having poor eyesight can be difficult, not only does it make life difficult without glasses, but it also increases the possibilities of getting into minor accidents like bumping into people and missing objects placed in front of us.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is also important because when you are not sleeping, you get disoriented and can ignore even obvious things like the last stair in the staircase. Make sure you get enough sleep to keep you fresh and focused.

Make Your Home Safe

There are many things that can cause you to have accidents, even in your home. To avoid such falls, make sure there are no lose ends like crooked floor panels, rugs that are sticking out or protruding furniture that can hurt your knees

A lighthearted Instagram reel by Delhi-based influencer Yuvraj Dua has turned into a broader conversation about the health risks of excessive sugar consumption after Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded with a public message urging people to cut down on sweets.

Dua made a humorous request to the Prime Minister about his father’s eating habits, explaining that his father is a devoted follower of PM Modi and tends to take his words very seriously.

He asked if the Prime Minister spoke against sweets during his monthly radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”, it might finally convince his father to control his sugar intake.

“If in the next Mann Ki Baat you say something against sweets, my father’s sugar will come under control,” he said in the video.

The reel quickly gained traction online and eventually caught the Prime Minister’s attention.

Responding to the post on Instagram, PM Modi on his Instagram story used the opportunity to deliver a broader public health message about the dangers of consuming too much sugar.

“On Yuvraj’s request, I urge his father and everyone out there to reduce sugar intake, be healthy and be happy,” he wrote.

The Prime Minister also warned that excessive sugar consumption is linked to several serious health conditions.

“Focus on your wellbeing. Eat well, eat healthy. Excessive sugar invites a range of diseases. Then there is the looming threat of obesity. Also, do make Yoga a part of your lives. It is a great way to remain fit and active,” he added.

India And Diabetes

India today carries one of the heaviest diabetes burden in the world. This is a crisis that is not just driven by genetics, but also by rapid urbanization, sedentary routines, shifting diets, stress, and late diagnosis. With over 101 million Indians currently living with diabetes in India, and 136 million in the pre-diabetic stage, as stated by the latest ICMR estimates, the country is facing an epidemic. This threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system in the coming years.

Diabetes is one of the chronic lifestyle conditions that most older adults fear developing, especially past the age of 40. This is when body's main source of energy or glucose is too high. However, recent cases show that diabetes may no longer be a disease of aging. While most people who are middle-aged or older adults develop Type 2 diabetes, there is in fact a rise in cases among the youth, including children.

In India too, there is a sharp rise in diabetes across all age groups, with many cases going undiagnosed until complications set in, says Dr Mayanka Lodha Seth, chief pathologist at Redcliffe Labs. " Diabetes cases are rising not just among older adults but also in children, teenagers, and youngsters in their 20s & 30s," says the doctor.

When large amounts of sugar are consumed regularly, the body experiences repeated spikes in blood glucose levels. Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where the body’s cells stop responding effectively to insulin. This is one of the key mechanisms behind the development of type 2 diabetes.

Excess sugar intake is also strongly linked with weight gain. Sugary foods and beverages are often calorie dense but nutritionally poor, making it easy to consume large amounts of calories without feeling full.

Research has also shown that frequent consumption of sweets and sugary drinks can increase the risk of fatty liver disease and dental problems.

Public health organizations across the world recommend limiting added sugar in daily diets. The World Health Organization suggests that added sugar should make up less than 10 percent of total daily calorie intake, and ideally below 5 percent for additional health benefits.

Following the Prime Minister’s response, Dua reacted with amusement and relief, hoping that the message would finally persuade his father to change his habits.

“Now even Modi ji has said it. Papa, please listen,” he wrote in response.

What began as a typical sports injury for a teenage volleyball player turned into a life-altering medical discovery. McKinnon Galloway, now 33, learned she had a rare genetic condition called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) after a fall during a volleyball match led doctors to perform a routine brain scan.

Galloway was just 16 and playing as a setter on her school volleyball team when she dove for the ball and hit her head on the ground. Concerned about a concussion, doctors ordered an MRI scan. Instead of a simple injury, the scan revealed two tumors in her brain.

Doctors soon confirmed she had neurofibromatosis type 2, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body.

NF2 occurs when a gene responsible for regulating nerve growth does not function properly. Without this signal telling nerve cells to stop growing, tumors can form along nerves and press on surrounding structures or disrupt nerve function.

Tumors multiplied quickly

When doctors first detected the tumors, they described them as slow growing. But within six months, follow-up scans showed the tumors had doubled in size.

Over the years, the condition progressed. Today Galloway lives with 13 tumors located in different parts of her body. Six are in her spine, three are in her hand, two are in her neck, and two remain in her brain.

To manage the disease, she has undergone several treatments including chemotherapy drugs, radiation therapy, and experimental medical trials. She was prescribed Avastin, a medication originally used to treat breast cancer, in an attempt to slow tumor growth.

At age 21 she also joined a phase-one clinical trial in which researchers tested increasing doses of an experimental drug to evaluate its safety. The trial was eventually stopped for her after she developed adverse reactions.

Hearing loss and multiple surgeries

The most difficult consequences of NF2 have been related to hearing loss caused by tumors affecting auditory nerves. Galloway has undergone four brain surgeries in attempts to remove or control the growth of these tumors.

After the first operations she lost hearing in her right ear. Over the next decade her hearing gradually declined in the left ear as well.

In early 2022, during a family vacation, she woke up unable to hear anything. Initially she believed the television in the room had been muted, but quickly realized she had lost her hearing entirely.

Steroid treatment temporarily restored about 20 percent of hearing in one ear. However, another brain surgery later that year resulted in complete deafness.

The operation, which lasted nearly 10 hours, was intended to remove a tumor threatening her life. Complications during surgery left her hospitalized for weeks and forced her to adapt to a completely silent world.

Finding a new purpose

In the months that followed, Galloway struggled with isolation because she had not yet learned effective ways to communicate without hearing. Over time, assistive technology and digital communication tools helped her reconnect with people around her.

She has since become a content creator and public speaker, using social media to raise awareness about NF2 and educate others about technology that supports deaf individuals.

Her advocacy work also includes supporting research efforts and raising funds for organizations dedicated to neurofibromatosis research.

Despite years of treatments, surgeries and uncertainty, Galloway recently received encouraging news. Her latest medical scan showed stable tumor growth for the first time in four years.

Today she continues to share her experience in hopes of helping other families facing the rare disorder.

“Being diagnosed at 16 meant I still had a childhood,” she said. “Many children with this condition spend those years in hospitals, and they deserve more than that.”

While research shows women need more sleep than men due to brain function, hormones, and multitasking, females around the globe are struggling to get enough sleep, according to experts.

A 2016 study by the Sleep Research Centre at the UK’s Loughborough University found that women needed 20 minutes more sleep because of multitasking and performing more complex brain tasks during the day.

But, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), revealed that an estimated 30 percent of women fail to get sufficient sleep.

Hormones, mood disorders, and caregiving responsibilities, coupled with professional pressures and stress, are the major reasons driving up insomnia and other sleep issues among women.

“Women around the world face a higher burden of sleep difficulties because their sleep cycles are tightly interlinked with hormonal shifts that occur throughout life,” Dr. Janhvi Siroya Shah, Sleep Specialist from the University of Bern, Switzerland, told HealthandMe.

Gender Gap In Sleep: Why Women Sleep Less

The gender gap in sleep is real, as revealed by the recent ResMed Global Sleep Survey 2026, which showed that 56 percent of women get a good night's sleep only four days or fewer per week, compared to 50 percent of men.

Women were also 48 percent more likely to report problems falling asleep than men (42 percent). More than 50 percent of women felt waking up not feeling rested for 1-2 nights per week or more, compared to 46 percent of men.

The study flagged stress or anxiety as the biggest barrier to consistent, quality sleep (39 per cent), followed by work-related responsibilities (37 per cent) and household duties (31 per cent) among women.

Speaking to HealthandMe, Dr. Kirti Kadian, from the Department of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at AIIMS Bhopal, said: “Women experience disproportionate sleep challenges globally, largely because their bodies undergo repeated physiological transitions that influence how sleep is regulated.”

The experts cited the main reasons as

• fluctuations during menstruation,
• pregnancy,
• postpartum recovery
• menopause.

All these factors can alter mood regulation, increase nighttime alertness, and disrupt the architecture of sleep itself.

Dr Kadian said that hormonal fluctuations across the life course -- especially during the menopausal transition -- can affect circadian rhythm, airway stability, pain sensitivity, and the nervous system’s response to stress.

“When these biological changes coincide with external stressors, such as multitasking, emotional labor or caregiving demands, women become far more vulnerable to insomnia and unrefreshing sleep,” Shah said.

The prevalence of sleep disorders increases from about 16–42 percent in pre-menopause to around 39–47 percent in peri-menopause and up to 35–69 percent in post-menopause, indicating that sleep disturbances become more common as women progress through different reproductive stages.

“Declining levels of estrogen and progesterone can disrupt the body’s sleep regulation and trigger symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats, while reduced melatonin may make it harder to fall and stay asleep,” Dr. Kadian explained.

In addition, certain medical conditions that are more common in women, such as thyroid disorders, anemia, and autoimmune diseases, can also negatively affect sleep and overall health.

How Poor Sleep Affects Women

Poor sleep also significantly affects both physical and mental health, increasing the risk of

• metabolic disorders,
• cardiovascular disease,
• weakened immunity,
• persistent fatigue,
• reduced concentration,
• irritability,
• anxiety,
• depression.

How Women can Improve their Sleep

The Harvard Medical School suggested that to get a better sleep cycle women should:

• Create a sleep sanctuary by removing the television, computer, smartphone or tablet, from the bedroom.
• Cut down or limit afternoon naps to 20 to 30 minutes
• Avoid caffeine after noon
• Get regular exercise, but not within three hours of bedtime.