The following Healthcast report by medical editor Marilyn Brooks first aired May 13, 2004 on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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Most of us get shorter as we age...it's a very natural process that some doctors believe deserves a closer look. Researchers have discovered that the more height you lose, the more risk you have of a hip fracture.

Bill Cox, osteoporosis patient: "They told me I had the bones of an 80-year-old, which was a pretty good shock to me because I was only 59 or 58."

The truth? Age doesn't matter. Anyone can develop osteoporosis. But is there a way to tell just who is at risk without extensive testing?

Dr. Seth Kantor, rheumatologist, Ohio State University Medical Center: "The answer we found in our study was, yes. Height loss predicts bone predicts bone density at the hip."

Kantor looked at records of more than 2,000 patients and noticed a simple but surprising trend. A loss of 1 inch in height meant there was no increased risk for osteoporosis at the hip, but if a patient lost 2 to 3 inches in height, their risk increased by four times. Losing more than 3 inches increased the risk 10 times.

Kantor: "Their height is not routinely measured, and what this study suggests is that it ought to be -- at least, perhaps at the time of their annual physical, or if they're going to their gynecologist's office at the time of their annual checkup."

Osteoporosis at the hip often leads to hip fractures. That is a serious problem. Roughly 1,000 people break their hips every day in this country. Half of them will die within one year or require nursing home care.

People like Cox need to know their risk before something happens to them. Keeping track of how tall he is might just be the easiest way to do that.

Osteoporosis is responsible for roughly 300,000 hip fractures every year. Men account for 25 percent of hip fractures nationwide.

Doctors say a bone density scan should become as routine as a mammogram for women and men. Knowing the risk is half the battle.