Good nutrition, regular exercise, and (in some cases) medical treatments help reduce your risk of bone-weakening osteoporosis. What you don't know can hurt you. Take the following true-or-false quiz to learn more about protecting your bones to help ensure a healthy, active lifestyle for years to come.

1. All adults are at risk for developing osteoporosis.

True. Anyone can develop weak and easily broken bones. Women who are fair-skinned, thin, calcium-deficient or postmenopausal are at increased risk. Smoking also increases risk.

2. Osteoporosis is usually preventable.

True. Strategies to avoid severe bone loss include eating a well-balanced diet that contains adequate calcium and vitamin D, taking supplements if needed, exercising regularly, and avoiding tobacco and alcohol.

3. Nagging back pain is the most common symptom of osteoporosis.

False. Bone loss occurs without symptoms. Osteoporosis usually progresses painlessly until a fracture occurs, usually in the hip, spine or wrist. Bone density tests can help prevent fractures before they occur.

4. Arthritis is a primary cause of osteoporosis.

False. Arthritis refers to inflammation in the joints, not to a loss of bone strength or density. Long-term use of prescription steroids for rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, or psoriasis, however, can weaken bones.

5. People with chronic digestive diseases are at increased risk for osteoporosis.

True. Crohn's disease and celiac sprue can interfere with the body's ability to absorb calcium and may reduce bone mass. Having type 1 diabetes and hypercalciuria, a disorder in which excess calcium is lost through the urine, may also rob the body of the calcium needed to build and maintain bone.

6. Our bones stop growing when we are about 20 years old.

False. The human body is constantly breaking down and remaking bone tissue. Osteoporosis can result when the rate of bone loss exceeds that of bone production.