Nicholas C Harvey MA MB BChir PhD FRCP is Professor of Rheumatology and Clinical Epidemiology at the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, and leads a world class programme of research focused on the lifecourse epidemiology of bone and joint disease. His work is investigating the translation of epidemiological observations linking early life influences with later bone health into potential novel public health strategies (e.g. gestational vitamin D supplementation) aimed at optimising childhood bone mineral accrual and reducing risk of later fracture; elucidation of underlying mechanisms; and investigation of novel risk factors for poor bone health in older age. He has won several awards at national and international meetings, is an investigator on >£50m grant funding and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers. He is Vice-Chair of the International Osteoporosis Foundation Committee of Scientific Advisors, Musculoskeletal Lead for the UK Biobank Imaging Enhancement, and a member of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Professional Practice Committee, National Osteoporosis Society (UK) Scientific Programme Committee, UK Bone Research Society Committee, Arthritis Research UK PRC and UK NIHR Regional RfPB Panel. Cyrus Cooper OBE DL FMedSci is Professor of Rheumatology and Director of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton and Professor of Musculoskeletal Science at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford. He leads an internationally competitive programme of research into the epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders, most notably osteoporosis. His key research contributions have been discovery of the developmental influences which contribute to the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture in late adulthood, demonstration that maternal vitamin D insufficiency is associated with suboptimal bone mineral accrual in childhood, characterisation of the definition and incidence rates of vertebral fractures and leadership of large pragmatic randomised controlled trials of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in the elderly as immediate preventative strategies against hip fracture. He is President of the International Osteoporosis Foundation, Chair of the BHF Project Grants Committee, an emeritus NIHR Senior Investigator and Associate Editor of Osteoporosis International. He has previously served as Chairman of the Scientific Advisors Committee, International Osteoporosis Foundation; Chairman, MRC Population Health Sciences Research Network; Chairman of the National Osteoporosis Society of Great Britain; and past-President of the Bone Research Society of Great Britain. He has worked on numerous Department of Health, European Community and World Health Organisation committees and working groups and has published extensively (over 900 research papers; h-index=119) on osteoporosis and rheumatic disorders and has pioneered clinical studies on the developmental origins of peak bone mass. In 2015, he was awarded an OBE for services to medical research.

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• Preface. Authors. Contributors. The burden of osteoporosis. DOHaD: The concept, its implications and applications. Early growth, bone development and risk of adult fracture. Maternal nutrition, lifestyle and anthropometry during pregnancy, and offspring bone development. Vitamin D in early life: From observation to intervention. Nutrition and bone health during childhood and adolescence: A global perspective. Developmental plasticity, epigenetic mechanisms and early life influences on adult health and disease: Fundamental concepts. Epigenetic mechanisms in bone development. The material and structural basis of the growth-related gain and age-related loss of bone strength. Risk factors for post peak bone mass bone loss and osteoporotic fracture: Lessons from population studies. Risk factors for post peak bone loss and osteoporotic fracture: Lessons from novel imaging studies. Assessment of fracture risk. Therapeutic approaches to bone protection in adulthood. A lifecourse perspective on bone health and disease: Scientific and social implications. Epilogue. Index.