Teaming exercise with a low-calorie diet can be bad for your health, study states
| Sep 13, 2019, 10:58 IST
At this point, we're all aware that when you want to shed those extra kilos you have to burn more calories than you consume and you have to opt for the right workout session. However, a new study has found that teaming exercise with a low-calorie diet can prove to be rather bad for your health. In fact, it may harm your bones to the extent that it might increase the risk of fracture or injury.
"These findings were somewhat of a surprise for us," Maya Styner, the senior study author. "Past studies in mice have shown us that exercise paired with a normal calorie diet, and even a high-calorie diet, is good for bone health. Now we're learning this isn't true for exercise along with a calorie-restricted diet."
The researchers conducted a study on mice. Previous studies had shown that there was fat content present in the bone marrow of mammals and this fat wasn't necessarily good for these mammals (including humans). When the researchers reduced the calorie content in mice by 30%, they found that it helped reduce their weight but it also ended up increasing the fat content in their bone marrow. And this could make their bones weak.
"Looking at this from a human perspective, even a lower calorie diet that is very nutritionally sound can have negative effects on bone health, especially paired with exercise," Styner said. "This is important for women to consider because as we age our bone health starts to naturally decline. Your calorie intake and exercise routine can have a great impact on the strength of your bones and your risk for break or fracture."
Experts claim that on an average, a woman in her 30s should be consuming at least 2000 calories per day to stay healthy. If these women were to cut out 30% of the calories they consume, they would cut out 1400 calories per day which could lead to weaker bones in their body. The lead author also said that she plans on continuing the research with her team to figure out how bone marrow fat can affect the body. Stay tuned for more updates.
"These findings were somewhat of a surprise for us," Maya Styner, the senior study author. "Past studies in mice have shown us that exercise paired with a normal calorie diet, and even a high-calorie diet, is good for bone health. Now we're learning this isn't true for exercise along with a calorie-restricted diet."
The researchers conducted a study on mice. Previous studies had shown that there was fat content present in the bone marrow of mammals and this fat wasn't necessarily good for these mammals (including humans). When the researchers reduced the calorie content in mice by 30%, they found that it helped reduce their weight but it also ended up increasing the fat content in their bone marrow. And this could make their bones weak.
"Looking at this from a human perspective, even a lower calorie diet that is very nutritionally sound can have negative effects on bone health, especially paired with exercise," Styner said. "This is important for women to consider because as we age our bone health starts to naturally decline. Your calorie intake and exercise routine can have a great impact on the strength of your bones and your risk for break or fracture."
Experts claim that on an average, a woman in her 30s should be consuming at least 2000 calories per day to stay healthy. If these women were to cut out 30% of the calories they consume, they would cut out 1400 calories per day which could lead to weaker bones in their body. The lead author also said that she plans on continuing the research with her team to figure out how bone marrow fat can affect the body. Stay tuned for more updates.