Hip fracture is a frequent complication of osteoporosis, where the bones become brittle and prone to break when a fall occurs. Osteoporosis affects one in three women and one in five men aged over 50 in Europe.

A hip fracture can signal the end of independent life for an older person.  Therefore to maintain quality of life, it’s essential to protect against osteoporosis and hip fracture.  We already know that smoking and being underweight increase the risk of osteoporosis, and therefore hip fracture, while exercise keeps bones strong.  But can diet also affect hip fracture risk?

A new study from researchers at the National University of Singapore reveals that soy intake is linked to the risk of hip fracture.  They looked at a group of over 63,000 Chinese living in Singapore, recruiting their participants between 1993 and 1998.  Each was given a food frequency questionnaire and asked about lifestyle habits to determine the factors that might influence hip fracture risk.  By the end of 2006, there had been 276 hip fractures among the men in the group and 692 hip fractures among the women.

A statistically significant relationship between soy intake and hip fracture was found for women, but not for men.  Those consuming three grams of soy a day – the equivalent of a 100 mL soya drink – had a 20-30% reduced risk of hip fracture.  However, the benefit was confined to the women in the group.  It is easy to work a higher soy intake into your diet by including soya yoghurts and drinks into breakfast, replacing some protein foods with soya burgers or soya mince, and there are also soya desserts to finish off a meal or have a snack.  Note also that soy-based products are also thought to be heart healthy foods.  So making soy part of your daily routine may protect against both heart disease and hip fracture, making for a better health in later life.
 

Source

Koh WP et al Gender-specific associations between soy and risk of hip fracture in Singapore American Journal of Epidemiology 2009