7.1 Paul Magee - Beyond Bone Density

Season 7 of The Best of Women’s Health podcast is LIVE today 🎉 and I couldn’t think of a better guest to open it with than Paul McGee of Profortus, back for his third visit. Long-time listeners will remember Paul and Sarah sharing their story with us, and Paul has been instrumental in my own bone health journey since my ‘diagnosis’ of osteoporosis. This time we go deeper into a question that surprises so many women: if density isn’t the whole story of fracture risk, what is? We discuss: ✅ Bone density vs bone strength, and why microarchitecture matters ✅ What DEXA does brilliantly, and where its blind spots lie ✅ Why holding your bone density steady after 50 is a real win ✅ Are we screening too late, when bone loss speeds up well before menopause? I LOVED Paul’s bridge analogy. Give a team of structural engineers and a team of ten-year-olds (fresh from an ice cream) the same pile of materials, and ask yourself which bridge you’d walk across. Same density, very different strength. Paul also shares the story of a patient who went from deadlifting 30kg to 75kg, and what that did for her scan results. His closing reminder has stayed with me since we recorded: “If you’re blindly going through life without any eyes on your bone health, then at some point you’ll have a fracture and it’ll be a surprise.” Paul and I are also planning an in-person education event together in 2027, so watch this space 👀 Find out more about Paul and REMS at Profortis: https://www.profortis.co.uk/about-pau...