Overweight dieters cutting calories, but do not exercise lose more than weight - they lose bone dough.
Discovery comes from a study by Dennis T. Villareal, MD and colleagues in Washington University in St. Louis.
The researchers studied 46 men and women at a mean age of 57 years. All were overweight; None has regular exercise.
In other words, they were typical Americans.
For the study, 36 of the participants agreed to lose weight. Half of them ate less - about 20% fewer calories. The other half worked more - burning about 20% more calories.
for comparison, plus 10 participants have advice on healthy lifestyles, but do not diet or exercise.
What happened? Compared to the 10 who only got advice, dieters and exercisers lost weight.
But, unlike exercisers, dieters lost more than weight. They also lost bone.
and they have lost in areas where the elderly are more likely to suffer fractures: their pimples, their hips and their upper legs.
Fruit Smoothies Weight Loss - Bone Loss Can Be Effected by Weight Loss
" If you change your diet and exercise at the same time, it's an overdue / win situation, "says Villareal.
Leslie Bouncia, MPH, RD, sports nutrition director at the University of Pittsburgh, notes that exercise stimulates bone growth.
If you just cut calories - and do not exercise - you hurt your bones two ways. You can cut nutrients needed to maintain strong bones, and you do not stimulate bone growth.
"Movement is such a critical component of the diet," says Bonit..
"You can get lighter without exercise - but this is because you have less skeleton than before. This is a great concern for people like getting old, "she says. in New York.
"If you are trying to lose weight and protect your skeleton, especially if you are an older adult, mix diet with exercise would be best to protect your bones" Pitches tells WebMD.
The Villareal study appears in the December 11/25 issue of internal files.
