It’s undeniable that losing weight if you are carrying too much of it has positive health benefits, but what isn’t so closely examined is the relationship between weight reduction and its impact on your bones.

One of the most frustrating things I find on writing about health is that you are always having to re-examine previously held, and tried and tested, beliefs. However, this is also a good thing as you should never believe anything anyone tells you without testing it out for yourself and asking questions.

Which brings me to new research from the University of Missouri that looked at the effect of weight loss, weight bearing exercise and bone density. It’s undeniable that losing weight if you are carrying too much of it has positive health benefits, but what isn’t so closely examined is the relationship between weight reduction and its impact on your bones.

During weight loss, indeed throughout your life, your bones are being broken down and replaced with new bone but during weight loss this happens at an accelerated rate. This can mean your bone density being reduced which can lead to increased fragility.

You may think that increasing your weight bearing exercise would compensate for this, but in this new study, the researchers found that such exercise, such as fast walking or jogging, did not prevent the increased bone turnover caused by weight loss.

This is not to diminish the impact of such exercise, but if you are going on a diet it would be wise to increase the amounts of bone building elements such as progesterone, calcium and vitamin D or take a specialised bone building formula during the period you are dieting.