BATON ROUGE, La.─ Young adults who follow a diet that is low in calories but nutritionally sound for six months appear to lose weight and fat without significant bone loss, according to a report in the September 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Chronic energy deficiency impairs bone mineral uptake, and that weight loss is associated with bone loss in obese individuals. Calorie restriction, therefore, could also lead to bone loss and fracture.
“Our data do not support the notion that extreme weight loss (more than 10 percent) over short periods (three months) has a worse prognosis on bone health than gradual weight loss achieved over six months by moderate calorie restriction with or without aerobic exercise,” the study authors wrote. “We speculate that in young individuals undergoing calorie restriction, minor adjustments in bone occur as a normal physiological adaptation to the reduced body mass.”
