Resistance Training May Improve Bone Health for Vegans

MONDAY, Aug. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Bone microarchitecture differs for vegans versus omnivores, but these differences are attenuated for participants reporting resistance training, according to a study published online Aug. 4 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Robert Wakolbinger-Habel, M.D., Ph.D., from the Academic Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Vienna, and colleagues examined trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture in vegans and omnivores in an observational study. Participants included 43 and 45 healthy nonobese female and male individuals on a plant-based diet and on an omnivore diet for at least five years, respectively.

The researchers found that trabecular and cortical structure was altered in the vegan group compared with omnivores. Diminished bone microarchitecture was seen for vegans not reporting resistance training compared with omnivores not reporting resistance training. Bone structure was similar for vegans and omnivores reporting resistance training. A small number of correlations were seen between nutrient intake and bone microarchitecture in both vegan subgroups (resistance training and no resistance training), but no conclusive pattern was observed.

"Veganism is a global trend with strongly increasing numbers of people worldwide adhering to a purely plant-based diet," a coauthor said in a statement. "Our study showed resistance training offsets diminished bone structure in vegan people when compared to omnivores."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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