Can community exercise prevent bone loss from weight loss in older adults?

In a Journal of Bone and Mineral Research study of older adults with obesity who were cutting calories, an intervention that incorporated resistance training, aerobic training, or neither did not prevent bone loss associated with active weight loss. The study's results suggested that resistance training may help minimize long-term hip bone loss, however.

"If minimizing bone loss during active weight loss proves necessary to offset long-term skeletal fragility, then our results suggest that resistance exercise may need to be coupled with other intervention strategies to maximize skeletal benefit," said lead author Dr. Kristen Beavers, of Wake Forest University.

Additional research should seek to elucidate the mechanisms underlying weight-loss-induced bone loss, so that safe and effective strategies can be designed to preserve all aspects of bone health in dieting older individuals.