News in brief: Cola linked to brittle bones in women

Phosphoric acid in cola may lead to brittle bones in women, according to the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. US researchers asked 1,413 women and 1,125 men with an average age of just below 60 to fill in diet questionnaires. This data were analysed with regular bone mineral density (BMD) measurements taken at the spine and three hip sites. The women drank on average four cans of cola a week and the men five. Despite drinking more, the men’s bone density remained much the same. With the women, significantly lower BMD was measured at each hip site, but not the spine, regardless of other factors (Am J Clin Nutr; 84; 4; 936–42).