Camilla plea on osteoporosis fight

The Duchess of Cornwall has called for the lifestyles of young people to be targeted in the fight against osteoporosis.

In a rare speech, Camilla stressed that regular exercise and a healthy diet were of "mega importance" to the generation's future bone health.

She made the plea for young people to be educated about the disease as she was presented with the Kohn Award 2007 for her dedication to raising awareness of osteoporosis over the years.

Camilla spoke of how her own mother and grandmother died from the condition, which at the time she said was usually linked to old women with "so-called Dowager's humps".

The Duchess said during her solo engagement at the award ceremony at the Royal Society in central London: "Huge strides have been made since then and I'm glad to say that we're making progress on all fronts.

"But if we are to continue to make progress we must target not only the older generation but the young people and their lifestyles.

"It is vital that they learn that regular exercise and a healthy diet are of mega importance to their bone health in the future and it is our duty to educate them."

She added that the National Osteoporosis Society, of which she is president, had played a crucial role in raising the profile of the brittle bone disease.

"But we must not rest," she said. "Osteoporosis is still not as widely understood as we would like. The disease too often goes undiagnosed and patients still find that their path to the right treatment can be a long and painful one."

The Duchess' mother Rosalind Shand and grandmother Sonia Cubitt suffered from the condition.

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