The Effect of Dairy Intake with Caloric Restriction on Bone Mineral Density and Lipids in Overweight/Obese Post-Menopausal Women

Aim: Women in the post-menopausal stage of life are susceptible to a number of chronic health conditions related to obesity and osteoporosis. The objective of this study was to assess the association between lipids and bone mineral density (BMD) in overweight/obese postmenopausal women placed on a dairy calcium weight-reduction diet.

Methodology: A total of 56 overweight/obese postmenopausal women (mean age: 55.61±8.19; mean BMI: 32.95±6.12 kg/m2; mean weight: 86.88±17.25 kg; and mean BMD level: 1.05±0.17 g/cm2) were randomly assigned into a low dairy servings [DS-2] (800 mg/d of calcium or high diary servings [DS-4] (1400 mg/d of calcium) diet to evaluate differences in bone mineral density (BMD), body mass index (BMI) and lipid profiles (total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C), and triacylglycerol (TAG)) during a 3 month lifestyle education program.

Results: For the high calcium group, the change “∆” in values at 3 months compared to baseline were: ∆BMD: 0.03 (p=0.31); ∆BMI: -0.69 (P=0.005); ∆LDL: -25.41 (p<0.001); ∆HDL: 3.49 (p=0.365); ∆TC: -22.14 (p=0.004) and ∆TAG: -1.97 (p=0.998). In the low calcium group, the 3 month – baseline changes were: ∆BMD: -0.04 (p=0.69); ∆BMI: -0.74 (P=0.002); ∆LDL: -10.86 (p=0.314); ∆HDL: 3.99 (p=0.269); ∆TC: -5.96 (p=0.769) and ∆TAG: 4.53 (p=0.97). ∆BMD was correlated with ∆LDL and ∆TC: r=-0.27 (p=0.052) and r=-0.27 (p=0.054), respectively.

Conclusion: This study concludes that overweight/obese post-menopausal women who were placed on a dairy calcium weight-reduction diet during a 3 month educational program had lower in BMI, LDL, TC and higher HDL values.