Women who have already experienced menopause and are following a high-protein diet may be at risk of bone density loss, according to findings published in Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

In order to determine the effects of this regimen on post-menopausal women, researchers from Purdue University examined the results of two studies that had female participants aged 43 to 80 follow certain diets.

During the first trial, investigators had volunteers reduce their caloric intake by 750 calories by following an eating plan enriched or free of proteins. The second study had participants eat 1,250-calorie diets, but researchers had the women consume different types of proteins.

After each trial, the teams measured the bone density in each woman. Researchers found that weight-loss efforts that included increased protein intake were linked to bone loss.

Wayne W. Campbell, lead author of the study, stated that this diet may cause women to lose “bone mineral density faster than women who consumed normal protein diets that did not contain any meats.”

Suffering from bone density loss, especially later on in life, may lead to a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones. In fact, approximately 55 percent of Americans aged 50 years and older are at risk of developing osteoporosis, the National Osteoporosis Foundation reports.