Bones, Strength and Menopause: What Matters Now?
Guest: Karen Van Esveld
Season 2, conversation 6 · Published 31 July 2026
The conversation that will change the questions you ask about your body.
Karen and I talk about bones, strength and what we want our bodies to keep doing. Carrying the bags, travelling, getting up off the floor. It’s a different question from how we look, and one worth bringing into our own health conversations.
Watch or listen
What we talk about.
- Karen explains the difference between a diagnostic bone-density scan and a body-composition scan. Before booking anything, ask what question the test is meant to answer.
- Karen talks about nutrition, movement and hormones together. Bone health is a bigger conversation than one nutrient, and your own circumstances belong in it.
- Karen explains why hormonal changes around menopause matter when discussing bone density. It’s a reason to ask about your own risk, rather than assume everyone needs the same plan.
- Karen and I discuss everyday movements and what we want to keep doing. Strength can be about the life we want to enjoy, alongside how we look.
- Karen encourages getting your health information organised and asking for professional help if it feels overwhelming. You don’t have to understand it all before asking.
About Karen Van Esveld: Accredited clinical nutritionist, Pilates instructor and founder of Wellset Nutrition and Pilates, Sydney.
Conversation guide
What do you want to keep doing at 80? Karen and I talk about bones, strength and what we want our bodies to keep doing. Carrying the bags, travelling, getting up off the floor. It’s a different question from how we look, and one worth bringing into our own health conversations.
- Ask what question a bone scan would answer.
- Plan a breakfast with a protein you enjoy.
- Review supplements with your GP or pharmacist.
Strength framed around what you want to keep doing.
What do I want my body to keep doing at 80?
Try this week: Take that question into your next health appointment and ask what would support it.
This is a reflection exercise, not medical advice. Take personal health questions to a qualified health professional.
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These ideas come from our conversation. The activities are a few suggestions to try, when you’re ready. Testing and exercise need to suit your circumstances. For further reading, visit healthdirect.gov.au/osteoporosis.
Transcript excerpt.
YouTube · 31:07-31:42
Read the source transcript on Buzzsprout
Conversation excerpt · 31:07-31:42
[31:07] >> A DEXA scan? It is a dual energy X-ray. [31:11] [laughter] [31:11] >> Great. Thanks. [31:13] >> No. Well, well, it is kind of [31:14] interesting. It can put an X-ray through [31:17] your body and design it will work out [31:19] how much is bone, how much is fat, uh [31:22] how much is muscle because it's [31:23] measuring through the tissues. But there [31:25] are two types of DEXA. So there's [31:28] >> the DEXA scan that's diagnostic for [31:30] osteopenia, osteoporosis in your [31:32] fracture risk. [31:33] >> And then there's the DEXA scan that's [31:35] the full body composition which only [31:37] came out in the 1990s. But it is [31:40] obviously an amazing tool to motivate [31:42] you to maybe go and do something if it's
Topics: HEALTH, LONGEVITY
What do I want my body to keep doing at 80?
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