World Osteoporosis Day was celebrated in Russia on October 20, 2025, with the theme "It's Unacceptable - Stop the Neglect of Bone Health."

Since 2011, the Russian Osteoporosis Patient Society “Osteorus” (led by Professor Olga Ershova) has celebrated this event across the country as an occasion to raise awareness among the public, government officials, and businesses about the problems of patients with this serious disease.

On this day and throughout the year, “Osteorus” volunteers and specialists from the Russian Osteoporosis Association (RAOP, led by Professor Olga Lesnyak) organize various events in Russia focused on educating about the prevention, prompt diagnosis, and treatment of osteoporosis.  View all World Osteoporsosis Day events held in Russia.

Since its inception, “Osteorus” has expanded its activities to include outreach to children and young people in preschool, school, vocational, higher, and extracurricular education. Disease prevention begins with a healthy diet aimed at building healthy bones from childhood and a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity and avoiding unhealthy habits.

Throughout the years, many different innovative activities have been developed, including a children's cartoon, a fairy tale, a radio drama, and methodological recommendations. An annual children's drawing competition is also held, and a calendar featuring the winning designs is printed. Recommendations on osteoporosis prevention are prepared annually by specialists, game-based lessons are held, children make crafts on the topic, write poems and essays, and much more is done, all of which contribute to the global experience of public health education.

One of the new ideas of this year's campaign is writing an Essay on the topic "How Would You Spend Your Health Day – Any Ideas?” with the focus on the   knowledge about osteoporosis.

In Yaroslavl several educational institutions have been participating in World Osteoporosis Day for many years, bringing something new to the table each year. Below we have briefly summarized some of those activities:

Nekrasov English Language Secondary School No. 4, part of the Educational Complex # 22 has been participating in raising awareness of students and teachers about osteoporosis and its prevention for many years. This year, Dr. Anna Nazarova, a member of the Russian Association on Osteoporosis, gave a lecture on disease prevention to the 8th-grade students. As part of the English lessons, they used the new information while working on the projects on healthy bones and a healthy lifestyle in general.

The students of the Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushinsky, who were having their internship at the school, organized an osteoporosis quest for the sixth-formers. They previously researched information about the disease and prepared seven "stations", where the pupils were to do different tasks (a quest, a quiz, puzzles, and a series of physical exercises) under the supervision of the teachers. The task – to put the pieces of the puzzle (a picture of a skeleton) together – was a challenge! All participants, both interns and pupils, really enjoyed this event and raised their awareness about the disease and its prevention. 

The 10th and 11th grade pupils completed more challenging tasks, as they had previously acquired some knowledge base (for example, they performed yoga, tai chi, and shiatsu exercises). A total of 300 pupils participated in the events. They enjoyed this unusual health lesson, taught by their teachers and interns. The theme of healthy bones was also discussed during Biology lessons. The most important thing is that children share their knowledge of healthy eating habits for maintaining strong bones with their parents. Gradually, the entire family gets involved in the preparation of drawing posters and writing stories about osteoporosis. Thus, children become ambassadors of important knowledge for their families and friends. 

All this happened thanks to the involvement of the English teachers, Irina Peneva, Polina Maksimova, Olga Zabelina, Anna Smirnova, Elena Reutova, and a biology teacher, Natalia Mazavina, in this educational project. The pupils regularly participate in the children's drawing competition and other activities organized in the framework of World Osteoporosis Day in Russia. Schoolchildren, and now interns, have expanded their knowledge on this topic and will be able to apply it in life and share it with friends and acquaintances.

Secondary School No. 3 named after O. V. Izotov regularly participates in activities organized by the “Osteorus” Society too. Margarita Zakharova, an English teacher, organizes the children's educational activities. This year, as well as the lessons on osteoporosis and participation in the drawing competion and writing essays, the school held an autumn fair, where the children presented what they or their parents had grown. They also discussed the benefits of harvested fruits and vegetables for a balanced, healthy diet. This was followed by physical activities. 

The “Experto” Foreign Language Studio (formerly Lingvarts) has been participating in World Osteoporosis Day events for 10 years, each year finding new ways to present information that is engaging for children. This year, children in grades 1-3 planned breakfasts and learned in English which foods are good for bones. Thanks to Taisiya Ponomareva, the studio's director, her lesson participants are able to develop a healthy eating culture, learn about osteoporosis prevention, and share this information with their families.

At the Yaroslavl Pedagogical College, Marina Ermolaeva, a teacher of English, taught a health lesson for first-year students; they also designed posters, participated in a drawing competition and wrote essays about healthy lifestyle.

The children in the orphanage “Sunny Home” have been participating in the events dedicated to WOD for many years. This year, they have drawn several posters on the theme” Stop the Neglect of Bone Health” and have written an Essay “Osteoporosis and Teenagers”.

Thanks to the “Osteorus” patient society and specialists of the Russian Association  on Osteoporosis , volunteer work is underway to reach a growing number of young people who value disease prevention and a healthy, active lifestyle.

We express sincere gratitude to the creative team of the International Osteoporosis Foundation for magnificent ideas and recommendations on holding events to reach the young and to draw attention to the importance of bone-healthy lifestyle.

Contributed by Галина Евстифеева. Виктория Соцкова
 
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