ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the importance of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease concepts for understanding bone health and introduces perspectives from the social sciences, such as 'embodiment', as important complementary tools for understanding bone health as a biosocial matter. It proposes that such interdisciplinary approaches to bone formation and maintenance allow for a more holistic understanding of bone health and disease as well as for a more comprehensive perspective on the societal responsibility for bone health. For human development, however, the concept of 'maternal constraint' of fetal growth – a process in which maternal factors limit the growth of the fetus during development – has particular implications that are less widely known. The chapter concludes that interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for adequately addressing the complexity of both the biological and the social processes involved in bone health and disease and for promoting more equitable translations of scientific insights into policy practices.
