Research summary · Nutrition and energy
Maintaining protein did not offset low-energy bone-marker changes
A short-term feeding experiment investigates bone-turnover and inflammatory responses when energy availability is reduced, with or without preserving protein intake.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Randomized controlled multi-period crossover trial
- Journal
- European Journal of Applied Physiology
- Population / context
- Healthy active young adults · Cycling exercise
What the publication reports
Nineteen adults, including nine women, completed three five-day dietary conditions and standardized cycling plus Wingate exercise. Both energy-restricted conditions lowered the bone-formation marker P1NP. Preserved protein did not prevent these changes; several inflammatory responses were more pronounced in that condition.
Limits and interpretation
Five-day biomarker changes do not establish fracture risk or long-term bone loss. Macronutrient substitutions complicate attribution: lower carbohydrate availability may explain some responses, so the findings do not show that protein itself damages bone.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Bone biomarker and inflammatory cytokine responses to short-term low energy availability with and without preserved protein intake: a randomized, controlled, multi-period, cross-over trial
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42859187DOI: 10.1007/s00421-026-06461-wFull text at the sourceReader discussion
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