'Incredibly cheap' diet change could halve risk of hip fractures in older people

Consuming the recommended amount of calcium-rich dairy products leads to significantly fewer fractures among older people, finds a large-scale study 

By adding enough dairy to your diet, you can reduce the risk of hip fractures by almost half. Picture:  iStock

Half of older people who suffer a hip fracture from a fall will die within six months. This stark fact propelled Dr Sandra Iuliano, a researcher at the University of Melbourne, to work towards improving those odds.

“It’s a really horrid way for an older adult to live the last few months of their life,” she said at a recent conference in London organised by the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS).