Late dinners and missed breakfasts tied to higher osteoporosis risk

People who skip breakfast and eat late dinners may have an increased risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Lifestyle habits, such as exercise, alcohol consumption and smoking, are known to increase people's risk of osteoporosis, however little is known about the association between osteoporotic fracture and diet.

This study aimed to examine the association between lifestyle habits such as diet, and the risk of osteoporotic fracture. We found skipping breakfast and having late dinners was associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis. Furthermore, these unhealthy eating habits were found to be linked with the accumulation of other lifestyle risk factors such as physical inactivity, smoking and insufficient sleep."

Hiroki Nakajima, M.D., Ph.D., study author, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan

The researchers used a large health checkup cohort of 927,130 adults (45.3% male and 54.7% female) from a Japanese claims database to find the association between lifestyle factors and the diagnosis of osteoporotic fracture (hip, forearm, vertebral and humeral fractures).

They found people who had unhealthy habits such as smoking, daily alcohol consumption, not enough exercise or sleep, skipping breakfast, and having late dinners, were more likely to be diagnosed with osteoporosis.

"These results suggest that preventing osteoporosis and fractures requires not only healthy eating habits but also a broader effort to improve overall lifestyle behaviors," Nakajima said.

Other study authors are Yuichi Nishioka, Yuko Tamaki, Fumika Kamitani, Yukako Kurematsu, Sadanori Okada, Tomoya Myojin, Tatsuya Noda, Tomoaki Imamura, and Yutaka Takahashi of Nara Medical University.

The Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology funded the research.

The manuscript, "Dietary Habits and Osteoporotic Fracture Risk: Retrospective Cohort Study using Large-Scale Claims Data," was published online.