Calcium Prevents Bone Loss During Diets

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.—Overweight, premenopausal women receiving recommended or higher than recommended levels of daily calcium as part of an energy-restricted diet did not lose bone mass over a six-month period (Am J Clin Nutr, 85, 4:972-80, 2007). In a study coordinated out of Rutgers University, 44 overweight, postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to a calorie-restricted diet including either normal (1 g/d) or high (1.8 g/d) levels of calcium for six months, or were recruited for weight maintenance on 1 g Ca/d. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) were assessed before and after weight loss.

Researchers found the normal- and high-calcium weight-loss groups lost 7.2 ± 3.3 percent of initial body weight with no significant decrease in BMD or rise in bone turnover rates. Additionally, weight loss did not affect calcium absorption levels, which were deemed adequate at study’s end. The study concluded overweight premenopausal women do not lose bone during weight loss at normal or high calcium intake, which may be due to sufficient amounts of absorbed calcium.

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