Dr Tracey Clissold, left and Dawn Kiddie, right, were the leaders of the Conquer Health presentation in Whitianga.
Here’s a sentence you don’t expect from a medical specialist: “When I ask you to jump, you don’t ask how high – you ask how do I land.” That’s Dr Tracey Clissold, bone density specialist, and she’s serious about getting women over 30 to bounce their way to stronger bones.
Her prescription sounds almost too simple: jump up, land flat, jump again. Jump left, jump right, jump forward, jump back. Do it for two to three minutes a day — while the jug boils, the moment you roll out of bed, or any stray minute you can steal. Bare feet are best, she says, so your body absorbs the impact.
This advice took centre stage on Tuesday 9 July at Crossroads Church, Whitianga where Conquer Health hosted its Resilience and Longevity Series. Dawn Kiddie, representing Conquer Health, co-hosted alongside keynote speaker Dr Clissold, and together they made a compelling case for taking women’s health seriously – well before anything breaks.
Dawn Kiddie’s own motivation is personal. In her mid-twenties, she survived a horrific car accident, spending months relearning to walk — some days one step forward, some days two back. From that point on, Dawn became passionate about preventive health. Her philosophy: your health span should match your life span, and healthcare should be the fence at the top of the cliff, not the ambulance waiting at the bottom.
Conquer Health is a team of experts across multiple disciplines who look after you as a whole person. Their focus is preventive, functional and lifestyle medicine and testing – leading-edge work here in New Zealand – helping people take preventive measures and make lifestyle changes that enhance wellbeing and ward off disease, joint stiffness, brain fog, weight issues, sleep problems and genetic conditions. Through your own unique DNA testing, they dig into your biology to get real answers, not guesses.
Want to find out more or take charge of your own health? Get in touch with Dawn to see how Conquer Health can help.
Dr Clissold’s specialty is osteoporosis – a condition where bone breakdown outpaces rebuilding, leaving bones thin, porous and prone to fracture from surprisingly minor knocks.
After menopause, estrogen levels decline – and estrogen normally helps protect bone. Women can lose up to 20% of their bone density in the five to seven years following menopause, with the steepest drop in the first year or two. It’s called “the silent disease” because there are usually no symptoms until a bone breaks.
Genetics play a role too: European and Asian women are affected more than Māori or Pacific Islanders – so, as Dr Clissold jokes, choose your parents wisely.
The stakes are real: roughly two in three women will suffer a fracture at some point, bringing pain, lost mobility and lost independence with it. Dr Clissold’s research points to weight-bearing exercise, resistance training, calcium, vitamin D and creatine supplements as the most beneficial. Walking helps but isn’t enough on its own – bones and muscles strengthen best under load roughly three times body weight. That’s why short jumps, just two to three minutes a day, are such an effective solution.
To make all this practical, Dr Clissold has built an app, Osteo-gains.com, covering bone health, nutrition, fitness and stretching. It’s free to download, with a fuller personalised program available for US$24.99 a year. Conversations are underway with ACC and Osteoporosis NZ – who recognise the long-term cost of fractures – about potentially making it free for New Zealand women.
So next time the jug’s boiling, don’t just stand there. Jump. Jump with your daughters and granddaughters – a jump to the right, a jump to the left, a jump to the front, a jump to the back. Your bones and your future self will thank you. Enjoy your cup of tea.
◾️For further information, contact: Dawn Kiddie: dawn@conquerhealth.co.nz; Dr Tracey Clissold: Tracey.Clissold@toiohomai.ac.nz
