.Past studies show that people can help lower their osteoporosis risk through certain lifestyle habits, such as eating a well-balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight.A new study says following a low-calorie Mediterranean diet .coupled with physical activity may help reduce weight loss- and age-related bone mineral density decline in older women who have metabolic syndrome and who have obesity or overweight.This energy-reduced version of the Mediterranean diet still contains healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and fish, but with controlled portion sizes.

Due to our rapidly aging global populationTrusted Source, studies show that osteoporosis will likely become a bigger burden, with some estimating the amount of osteoporosis-related hip fractures to almost double in 2050Trusted Source, compared to 2018 statistics.Past studies show there are some ways in which people can help reduce their risk of developing osteoporosis, such as eating a well-balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin DTrusted Source, not smoking, participating in exercisesTrusted Source that strengthen the muscles and bones, and maintaining a healthy weight.“As people age, especially women after menopause, BMD (bone mineral densityTrusted Source) tends to decline, raising the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, which can significantly affect quality of life and the ability to live independently,” Jesús F. García-Gavilán, PhD, a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Spain told Medical News Today.“Identifying effective and sustainable strategies to preserve BMD is crucial to prevent these outcomes and mitigate the public health burden related to age-related bone loss,” he said.García-Gavilán is the co-lead author of a new study recently published in the journal JAMA Network OpenTrusted Source that has found following that following a low-calorie Mediterranean diet coupled with physical activity may help reduce weight loss- and age-related BMD decline in older women who have metabolic syndrome and who have obesity or are overweight.

What is an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet?For this study, researchers used study participants from the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea–Plus (PREDIMED-Plus)Trusted Source clinical trial, which was conducted in Spain between October 2013 and December 2016.This study included 924 male and female participants with an average age of 65, all of whom had metabolic syndrome and were either overweight or obese.“Metabolic syndrome is a collection of metabolic and health issues that often occur together, including high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, low levels of HDL cholesterol (healthy cholesterol) and high levels of triglycerides (another fat molecule) in blood,” García-Gavilán detailed.“Individuals with metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. We focused on this group because they are more likely to receive recommendations to lose weight for their health, and weight loss can influence bone density, making them a critical population for this type of research,” he said.Study participants were randomly placed in one of two groups — one following an energy-reduced Mediterranean diet (which is lower in calories than the standard diet) and increased physical activity, and the other group followed a normal Mediterranean diet with no extra exercise.