A speech by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall as President of the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) to mark the organisation's 20th Anniversary, Bath

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think it was 12 years ago that I first came here, to Camerton, to visit the NOS at the request of the indomitable Linda Edwards whom some of you knew very well indeed.

My mother had just died as a result of osteoporosis and I was determined to find out for myself more about this devastating disease.

In those days osteoporosis was seldom discussed, rarely diagnosed and usually attributed to the old women with so-called dowagers' humps.

Now, two decades on, with osteoporosis affecting one in two women over 50 and one out of five men, the understanding and the treatment of it have made huge strides.

DXA scanners are increasing in hospitals all over the country, medical treatments are improving all the time and young people, hopefully, are being made aware at last that having a good diet and the vital job exercise plays in preventing it.

As you all know we have a long, long way to go, but thanks to the incredible hard work that the NOS staff here put in and the wonderful job the local support groups do, in raising both funds and awareness, that the lives of thousands of people suffering with osteoporosis will be improved.

I would like to congratulate you all at the NOS on its 20th birthday and for doing such a fantastic job and to say how proud I am to be President of the National Osteoporosis Society.