One billion small footsteps for Asia, one giant leap in battle against Osteoprosis across Asia and Middle East

Fonterra Brands Lanka joins the Anlene™ regional challenge to step up, join forces and collectively achieve a record one billion footsteps to improve bone health and raise awareness of osteoporosis 2 November 2010 - Anlene™, the Expert in Bone Nutrition, has issued a call-to-action that urges men and women in Sri Lanka and across Asia to unite in a pledge to make healthier choices in the fight against osteoporosis.

Highlighting the combined role of balanced nutrition and an active lifestyle to maintain healthier bones – with 10,000 daily steps as a recommended goal for daily exercise Anlene has set the target of achieving over one billion footsteps across the region during October 2010.Sri Lanka contributed to this through Anlene Ashti Shakti, a 2-day event held at the Galle Face Green. As part of its support for World Osteoporosis Day 2010, Anlene™ aimed to motivate people to take the first steps that will contribute towards a long-term commitment to bone health.

Over the two days an estimated 13,500 people attended the Anlene Ashti Shakthi event. Participants were taken through an interactive journey of bone health in which they got to participate in games designed to test their bone strength. This included everyday activities that require strong bones in the wrist, spine, hip, knee and ankle.

Bone health awareness and education was driven through interactive displays, such as of bone health statistics on a 3D world map and a 15ft long bone tunnel.

To conclude the event, participants were taught to take care of their bones by learning about the different methods of maintaining good bone health such as a balanced diet and engaging in regular exercises like walking.

Mr. Achyut Reddy, Managing Director of Fonterra Brands Lanka says: “Osteoporosis one of the major health risks in Asia. In Sri Lanka we are making headway to addressing this issue, but there is still a long way to go. There is no cure for osteoporosis and so its prevention is particularly important.

By spearheading a range of movement and informative activities around World Osteoporosis Day each year and aiming to achieve one billion steps across the region this month, we aim to inspire and motivate people to commit to taking care of their bones for the long-term.”

Due to expanding populations and increasing longevity, half of the world’s osteoporotic fractures will occur in Asia by 2050. This alarming increase can be attributed to a widespread vitamin D deficiency and low calcium intake.

To help combat this, Fonterra, Anlene’s parent company, has spent over US$54 million on bone health research and development. And, since 2005, millions of people across Asia have benefitted from Anlene’s™ free bone health checks, which measure bone mass density and provide an indication on an individual’s susceptibility to develop osteoporosis.

As part of its ongoing dedication to improving bone health and raising awareness of osteoporosis, Fonterra has also recently extended its partnership with the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). Fonterra’s role as IOF’s Regional Nutrition Sponsor builds on a 4-year long relationship between the organisations to improve bone health in Asia and the Middle East.

About Fonterra: Fonterra is a global leader in dairy nutrition – the preferred supplier of dairy ingredients to many of the world’s leading food companies. Fonterra is also a market leader with our own consumer dairy brands in Australia/New Zealand, Asia/Africa, Middle East and Latin America.

The farmer-owned New Zealand co-operative is the largest processor of milk in the world, producing more than two million tonnes of dairy ingredients, value added dairy ingredients, specialty ingredients and consumer products every year. Drawing on generations of dairy expertise, Fonterra is one of the largest investors in dairy based research and innovation in the world. Our 16,000 staff work across the dairy spectrum from advising farmers on sustainable farming and milk production, to ensuring we live up to exacting quality standards and delivering every day on our customer promise in more than 100 markets around the world.

About Anlene: ANLENE™ is a range of dairy products specially formulated for adults’ optimal bone health. The range consists of Powder, and Pasteurised products. ANLENE™ contains more calcium than regular milk.

ANLENE™ also contains scientifically selected nutrients to work with the calcium to ensure enhanced absorption and bone strength maintenance. Fonterra has spent more than US$40 million on bone health research and US$14 million directly on the development of ANLENE™. Over the past 10 years, the experts behind ANLENE™ have funded, and been involved with 18 clinical trials relating to bone health.

Anlene Bone Health Check Data

The Anlene Bone Health Check provides free bone scans to the public using ultrasonometer technology. The programme provides people with an estimate of their risk of poor bone health, and is not used for diagnostic purposes. Statistics are collected on the number of participants in each zone of risk and summarised on a population basis.

About IOF: The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to the worldwide fight against osteoporosis, the disease known as “the silent epidemic”. IOF’s members - scientific researchers, patient, medical and research societies and industry representatives from around the world - share a common vision of a world without osteoporotic fractures.