The purpose of this study was to examine the interactive effects of diet and the aging process on the mechanical and material properties of bone. We investigated how an ad libitum (AL) diet and 40% caloric restriction (CR) with nutrient supplementation, beginning at 3.5 months of age, interacted with the aging process to influence bone development. Diet effects were determined by measuring changes in bone geometry and bone mechanics of the tibia in young adult and senescent Fischer 344 X Brown-Norway Rats (F344 BN) rats. Male F344 BN rats were divided into two dietary groups, AL or CR. CR commenced at 14 weeks of age, with 40% restriction and micronutrient supplementation. The AL group represented young adult (8 mo) and senescent (30–35 mo) rats. The CR group represented 8 mo and 35–40 mo rats. AL and CR groups were matched together for comparison based on the percentage survival rate. Tibiae were assessed using microcomputed tomography, mechanical testing, and ash analysis. The results showed that a CR diet resulted in a significant decrease in total body mass when compared to the AL diet group across all ages. With aging, both AL and CR diet groups showed a general increase in structural properties and a decrease in material properties. Furthermore, material and structural properties changed proportionately between both diet groups. Comparisons between diet groups based on percentage survival rate revealed a significant decrease in most structural properties, but no significant changes in material properties with CR. After normalization to body mass, structural properties were significantly greater in the CR group when compared to the AL group. The significantly greater CR structural properties over the AL diet group after normalization, with no significant changes in material properties, indicated that CR did not adversely affect the appendicular skeleton in F344 BN rats. Therefore, a CR diet with 40% restriction at fourteen weeks, with nutrient supplementation did not negatively impact tibial geometrical and mechanical properties in young and senescent male F344 BN rats.
