With World Osteoporosis Day approaching, women are urged to look after their bone health

Jeddah, October 19 2010: With World Osteoporosis Day on Wednesday 20 October, Anlene, Fonterra's leading adult milk brand, wants to increase awareness of this debilitating disease that has no cure - but is preventable.

From 27 to 29 October, Anlene is holding free bone scanning at Serafi Mall in Jeddah and hopes women in particular will come along to find out more about their bone heath, and how to prevent the onset of the disease. The test is painless and takes just a few minutes to complete. Patients are immediately given an analysis of their bone health and advice from a nutritionist on how to maintain healthy bones.

Staggeringly, 70 per cent of women over the age of 50 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are at risk of developing osteoporosis[1], but awareness is alarmingly low. With some sufferers experiencing curvature of the spine, muscle weakness, permanent disability and even death, Anlene is passionate in its efforts to alert women to the dangers of the disease.

"It is often known as the 'silent disease'." says Ahmad Yahya, Marketing Director for Fonterra Brands Middle East, Africa and CIS. "Sufferers are not aware they have the disease until a painful fracture or break occurs.  This is a serious public health issue and cannot be ignored."

Anlene is at the forefront of the global fight against osteoporosis and has conducted over 50,000 free bone scans in KSA alone; to better understand the health of the nation.

As well as a healthy diet including the daily recommended doses of Vitamin D and calcium, along with other nutrients such as zinc and magnesium to help build bone density health, regular weight-bearing exercise like walking, is crucial in helping to prevent the onset of the disease.

Since 2005 Fonterra has conducted more than 4 million bone scans in Asia and the Middle East, as part of its research programme to raise awareness of the growing incidence of osteoporosis in the region, which provides valuable insight into the state of bone health in the region.

Fonterra has spent more than US$54 million in the last decade to better understand osteoporosis and has also recently renewed its partnership with the International Osteoporosis Foundation. As its Regional Nutrition Sponsor, Fonterra will be continuing to work closely with IOF in the Middle East to raise awareness and increase education around the disease.

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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, UHT, Pasteurised and Yogurt 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.  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 15 clinical trials relating to bone health.

In 2007, ANLENE milk powder for adults was launched across the Middle East and is now the best selling adult milk brand in the UAE. (Neilson Retail Audit, Feb 2010)

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.

For further information contact:
Emma Jones
ASDA'A Burson Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 9714 3344550
e.jones@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2010