About this Research Topic
From the role of dietary calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, antioxidants, energy, and protein to those of gut microbiome and physical stimuli for bone development and maintenance, there is ample evidence that nutrition is important across the lifespan, both in health and pathological processes, in animals and humans. Not only do these factors impact skeletal health and performance, but they are intertwined and dialoguing.
Suboptimal lifestyle factors such as poor nutrition and obesity during growth and with aging lead to decreased bone mass accrual and increased risk of osteoporosis later in life. Obesity leads to changes in bone microarchitecture, and quality, and biomechanical shifts, ultimately resulting in increased fracture risk, reduced quality of life and cognitive decline. Obesity has also been associated with an increased risk for osteoarthritis and diabetes mellitus. This has been described in humans and in animals, such as dogs that are considered a spontaneous osteoarthritis disease model. Unbalanced nutrition, either by excess or deficits, is linked to bone-related diseases. There is a clear genetic predisposition, but factors like nutrition and physical activity are paramount for disease development and progression.
It has taken approximately 20 centuries to recognize the link between rickets and nutritional and environmental factors.
Although in recent decades we saw a boom in research in aging bone-related diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, this advance has often been compartmentalized and not always the findings result in widespread impact in the life of humans and pets. In part, this is due to insufficient dialogue between different disciplines, but also due to the difficulties posed by the nutrition research itself. Studying the impact of isolated nutrients does not take into consideration the complex interactions between different nutrients in ingredients, the mode of preparation, the individual genetics, gender, age, physiological state, co-morbidities, physical activity, environment, and habits of life. Populations, either of humans or animals, are highly heterogeneous and will respond differently to nutritional stimuli. Both the public and health professionals may suffer from bias and common misconceptions, prompted by waves of dietary trends in succession, namely in the media and the internet. This is true for both humans and animals. These, in the absence of consistent scientific evidence, lead to distrust and failure to implement appropriate individual dietary plans.
Through a One Health, multidisciplinary perspective, that addresses the compound aspects of the complex relationships involving bone and nutrition, we hope that this Research Topic will contribute to clarification and clinical application.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions addressing fundamental and applied research on the effects of nutritional factors on bone physiology and pathological processes in aging or associated with disease.
We, therefore, welcome Original Research, Methods, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives articles on (but are not limited to) the following topics:
•Interactions between dietary factors and bone health in aging.
•Relations between dietary needs, physical activity, and gender in aging populations.
•The impact of hormones in the pathogenesis and progression of bone-related diseases.
•Development of nutraceuticals for the treatment of bone disorders correlated to aging, oxidative stress, and inflammatory processes.
•Animal models of the aging bone, especially spontaneous disease models.
Keywords: : Nutraceuticals; dietary factors; bone-related diseases; physical stimuli; microbiome;
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.