Benefits for bone from resistance exercise and nutrition in long-duration spaceflight: Evidence from biochemistry and densitometry

Exercise has shown little success in mitigating bone loss from long‐duration spaceflight. The first crews of the International Space Station (ISS) used the “interim resistive exercise device” (iRED), which allowed loads of up to 297 lbf (or 1337 N) but provided little protection of bone or no greater protection than aerobic exercise. In 2008, the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED), which allowed absolute loads of up to 600 lbf (1675 N), was launched to the ISS. We report dietary intake, bone densitometry, and biochemical markers in 13 crewmembers on ISS missions from 2006 to 2009. Of these 13, 8 had access to the iRED and 5 had access to the ARED. In both groups, bone‐specific alkaline phosphatase tended to increase during flight toward the end of the mission (p = 0.06) and increased 30 days after landing (p