By Amy Norton
NEW YORK, Jul 11 (Reuters Health) - Older women trying to lose weight may
want to add calcium to their diet plans. While weight loss carries many health
benefits, older women may lose some bone density as they shed extra pounds,
researchers warn.
Half of women older than age 50 suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis--an
age-related thinning of the bones. Heavier women, with their greater bone mass,
are less likely than thinner women to develop osteoporosis. However, when older,
heavier women lose weight, some of their bone mass goes with it, according to
the report in the July issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
In a study of 67 overweight postmenopausal women, Dr. Dinnie Chao and her
colleagues found that over a 1-year period, weight loss triggered a "mild
reduction" in the women's bone density. Chao, a researcher at the University of
California, Davis, told Reuters Health that this finding should not discourage
older women from losing excess pounds. The health benefits--a lowered risk of
chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes--are clear, she noted.
Instead, Chao said, "we think that doctors should not only prescribe a
weight loss intervention. They should also monitor older women's bone mineral
density."
In addition, she said, women should add exercise to their diet plans.
Exercise has been shown to help women maintain bone mass. Diets rich in calcium
and vitamin D can also ward off bone loss. According to the National Institute
on Aging, women near or past menopause should take in 1,500 milligrams of
calcium every day.
In their study, Chao and her colleagues had some of the women follow a
weight loss program that included dietary changes and instruction on exercising.
At the end of 1 year, women on the program showed "minor" bone loss, Chao said.
Whether the bone loss was enough to boost their risk for osteoporosis was
unclear, but Chao said the decrease was "not that critical."
