WASHINGTON (CNN) - The National Osteoporosis Foundation, in collaboration with a broad, multi-disciplinary coalition of clinical experts, is expected to announce Thursday the first official guidelines to help prevent, diagnose, and treat osteoporosis in post-menopausal women.

The guidelines focus on diet, exercise and drug treatments. They are intended for physicians and offer concise recommendations in regards to prevention, risk assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

They recommend counseling all post-menopausal women at high risk of developing the disease and suggests using bone mineral density as the standard form of testing to determine a woman's risk and severity of the disease.

The guidelines recommend patients get at least 1200 milligrams of calcium and 400-800 IU (international units) of Vitamin D daily. They recommend women do regular weight-bearing or strength-training exercises to reduce the risk of falls and fractures and avoid drinking alcohol and smoking.

The guidelines also suggest specific drug options for prevention and/or treatment, including hormone replacement therapy.

Four million to 6 million Americans suffer from the degenerative bone disease; 80 percent of those are postmenopausal white women. An additional 13 million to 17 million Americans are at risk.

In 1995, expenditures for osteoporotic fractures in the United States averaged about $10 billion to $13 billion, and experts predict that number could triple by the year 2040.

These guidelines are primarily for post-menopausal white women since there is insufficient data to make specific recommendations for other populations. But experts said these guidelines can be universal until more specific information is gathered.