Powerful Bones. Powerful Girls.: Dictionary | DNPA

Image of Bok Choy Bok Choy ("choy" rhymes with toy) — This green leafy vegetable, also called Chinese cabbage, is a power-packed source of calcium. Besides that, it's really fun to say — bok choy!

Bone Density (BONE den-si-TEE) — How solid and how strong your bones are on the inside. Bone density is a measure of bone strength.

Image of Orange Juice Calcium (KAL-see-um) — The mineral in your body that makes your bones and keeps them hard and strong. In fact, most of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth. Calcium is found in lots of yummy foods.

Calorie (KAL-o-ree) — A measure of the energy you get from the food you eat. Typically, girls need 2,000 to 2,200 calories each day, but this number varies depending on your height, weight, age, and level of activity.

Cartilage (KAR-ti-lij) — Tough, rubbery tissue that supports and cushions the skeleton, like at the knee joint. You can feel cartilage by touching the tip of your nose or your ears.

Image of a Bone Collagen (KOL-uh-jin) — A protein in your bones that helps make sure your bones are strong and flexible.

Milligram (mg) (MIL-ih-gram) — A unit of measure used on nutrition labels to show the amount of calcium and other minerals in foods. A milligram is a little itty-bit of a gram (there are 1,000 milligrams in a gram). One 8-ounce glass of milk contains 300 milligrams of calcium. Yum!

Minerals (MIN-er-uhlz) — Tiny amounts of these substances in your body help you grow and be healthy. You get minerals from food, just like you get vitamins. Besides calcium, other minerals you may know are sodium, potassium, iron, and zinc.

Nutrient (NOO-tree-int) — Things in food (like vitamins, minerals, protein, fat and carbohydrates), that help your body function and grow.

Osteoporosis (OS-tee-oh-po-ROW-sis) — A bone disease that adults sometimes get. People with osteoporosis have bones that are weak and that can easily break.

Image of American Cheese Ounce — A unit of weight. There are 16 ounces in one pound. Ounces can be used to measure liquids (like 8 fluid ounces in a cup), or can be used to measure solid things (a slice of cheese is a little less than one ounce).

Peak Bone Mass — The highest level of bone density you can achieve (which probably happens in your 20s). Girls aged 9 to 18 are building to our peak now. So the stronger we make our bones now, the better.

Percent Daily Value (% DV) — The "% DV" on the Nutrition Facts food labels is a number that tells you if there's a lot or a little of a nutrient (like calcium) in a serving of food. 5% DV or less of a nutrient in a serving is low; 20% DV or more is high. The percentage is calculated for a person who needs 1,000 mg of calcium in a day. Girls aged 9-18 need more calcium than most adults, so strive to get 130% DV for calcium. Click here or check out the KidsHealth* and FDA Web sites to read more about food labels.

Portion — A helping of food. Portions and servings are different. For example, "one cheese sandwich" is a portion (probably made up of 2 servings of bread and 1 serving of cheese).

Image of a Carton of Milk Serving Size — A serving size (shown on a Nutrition Facts food label) is an amount of food that people typically eat. All of the nutrition information found on a food label (like % DV of calcium) is for one serving only. Serving sizes can be shown in different ways for different foods — like "slices" of cheese or "ounces" of juice, for example. Check out the KidsHealth* and FDA Web sites to read more about food labels.

Tofu — An Asian food made from soybeans. Tofu, if made with calcium (look for calcium sulfate on the ingredient list), has lots of calcium and protein. You can put it in salads, soups, and other cooked food.

Vitamin D — The vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium. You can get vitamin D from milk, tuna fish, or eggs. Fifteen minutes of sunshine gives you plenty of vitamin D. Remember the sunblock if you're outside longer, though.

Image of Carla Drinking Orange Juice Weight-Bearing Physical Activity — Any activity in which your body works against gravity, so your feet, legs, or arms are supporting or carrying your weight. Jogging, walking, stair climbing, dancing, and soccer are some weight-bearing physical activities you can do alone or with friends.

Click here for a printable version of this page.

*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by the Office on Women's Health or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The Office on Women's Health is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.