The Study
Effect of Aerobic or Resistance Exercise, or Both, on Bone Mineral Density and Bone Metabolism in Obese Older Adults While Dieting: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This study compared different kinds of exercise in older people trying to lose weight and found that lifting weights helped protect their bones more than walking or cycling. But it doesn't prove that weights stop bone loss completely — just that it was less bad than with just cardio.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
When older adults lose weight, their bones can get weaker—especially in the hip. But not all exercise helps equally.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 570 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Losing 2.6% of hip bone in 6 months is a big risk for fractures—this study shows lifting weights cuts that risk in half or more.
- 2People who did weightlifting or weightlifting + walking lost only 0.7%–1.1% hip bone density, while those who only walked lost 2.6%.
- 3Bone breakdown markers dropped 70–90% in weightlifters.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
Year
2019
Authors
R. Armamento-Villareal, L. Aguirre, D. Waters, N. Napoli, C. Qualls, D. Villareal
Related Content
Claims (6)
In obese older adults losing weight, reductions in total body mass and leptin levels in the blood are directly linked to decreased bone density in the hip, and together these two factors account for 20% of the observed bone density loss.
In obese adults aged 65 and older losing 10% of their body weight through diet, adding resistance exercise to aerobic exercise reduces hip bone mineral density loss compared to aerobic exercise alone over six months, with bone density loss measuring 0.7% to 1.1% versus 2.6%.
In obese older adults losing weight, exercise that includes strength training reduces the rise in specific bone breakdown and formation markers by 70–90% more than aerobic exercise alone.
For obese older adults losing weight, doing resistance training alone has the same effect on hip bone density and bone turnover markers as doing resistance training plus aerobic exercise.
Muscle contractions apply mechanical force that increases bone mineral density by activating bone-forming cells.
In obese older adults losing weight, doing aerobic exercise does not prevent the loss of bone density in the hip compared to losing weight without exercise.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.