10 Natural Ways to Build Healthy Bones
8. Maintain a Stable, Healthy Weight
In addition to eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight can help support bone health.
For example, being underweight increases the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.
This is especially the case in postmenopausal women who have lost the bone-protective effects of estrogen.
In fact, low body weight is the main factor contributing to reduced bone density and bone loss in this age group (47Trusted Source, 48Trusted Source).
On the other hand, some studies suggest that being obese can impair bone quality and increase the risk of fractures due to the stress of excess weight (49Trusted Source, 50Trusted Source).
While weight loss typically results in some bone loss, it is usually less pronounced in obese individuals than normal-weight individuals (51Trusted Source).
Overall, repeatedly losing and regaining weight appears particularly detrimental to bone health, as well as losing a large amount of weight in a short time.
One recent study found that bone loss during weight loss was not reversed when weight was regained, which suggests that repeated cycles of losing and gaining weight may lead to significant bone loss over a person’s lifetime (52Trusted Source).
Maintaining a stable normal or slightly higher than normal weight is your best bet when it comes to protecting your bone health.
In addition to eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight can help support bone health.
For example, being underweight increases the risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis.
This is especially the case in postmenopausal women who have lost the bone-protective effects of estrogen.
In fact, low body weight is the main factor contributing to reduced bone density and bone loss in this age group (47Trusted Source, 48Trusted Source).
On the other hand, some studies suggest that being obese can impair bone quality and increase the risk of fractures due to the stress of excess weight (49Trusted Source, 50Trusted Source).
While weight loss typically results in some bone loss, it is usually less pronounced in obese individuals than normal-weight individuals (51Trusted Source).
Overall, repeatedly losing and regaining weight appears particularly detrimental to bone health, as well as losing a large amount of weight in a short time.
One recent study found that bone loss during weight loss was not reversed when weight was regained, which suggests that repeated cycles of losing and gaining weight may lead to significant bone loss over a person’s lifetime (52Trusted Source).
Maintaining a stable normal or slightly higher than normal weight is your best bet when it comes to protecting your bone health.
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