Research
Energy balance
Sustained caloric restriction in non-obese adults leads to a statistically significant but clinically small loss of bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and spine, increasing fracture risk by an estimated 0.2% over 10 years.
If you restrict calories, expect some bone density loss. Take calcium and vitamin D as recommended, and monitor your bone health, although the increased fracture risk is very small.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
At month 12 and 24, the BMD at lumbar spine, total hip and intertrochanter of participants in the CR group was significantly lower than in those in the control group (p<0.001 for the between-group differences at all sites).
Why this rating
Statistically significant findings in an RCT, though clinical significance is debated.
Source
Safety of two-year caloric restriction in non-obese healthy individuals
Sergei Romashkan et al. · Oncotarget · 2016
DOI 10.18632/oncotarget.8093
rct · n=218Cited 54×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Sustained caloric restriction (approx. 12-25% reduction) in healthy non-obese adults for two years is safe and well-tolerated, with no deaths and only minor adverse events, despite causing modest bone mineral density loss and hematocrit drops.Good
- Caloric restriction in non-obese adults increases the incidence of adverse events related to the nervous, musculoskeletal, and reproductive systems, particularly in normal-weight individuals compared to overweight individuals.Good
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