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Calorie Restriction and Skeletal Mass in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Evidence for an Effect Mediated Through Changes in Body Size

^a Molecular and Nutritional Physiology Unit, Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, Maryland
^b Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital, New York, New York
^c Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers, The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

M.A. Lane, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224 E-mail: MLANE{at}vms.grc.nia.nih.gov.

Decision Editor: John A. Faulkner, PhD

Little is known regarding the effects of prolonged calorie restriction (CR) on skeletal health. We investigated long-term (11 years) and short-term (12 months) effects of moderate CR on bone mass and biochemical indices of bone metabolism in male rhesus monkeys across a range of ages. A lower bone mass in long-term CR monkeys was accounted for by adjusting for age and body weight differences. A further analysis indicated that lean mass, but not fat mass, was a strong predictor of bone mass in both CR and control monkeys. No effect of short-term CR on bone mass was observed in older monkeys (mean age, 19 years), although young monkeys (4 years) subjected to short-term CR exhibited slower gains in total body bone density and content than age-matched controls. Neither biochemical markers of bone turnover nor hormonal regulators of bone metabolism were affected by long-term CR. Although osteocalcin concentrations were significantly lower in young restricted males after 1 month on 30% CR in the short-term study, they were no longer different from control values by 6 months on 30% CR.

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