Exposure to diets high in fat and sucrose can induce hyperinsulinaemia, affect Ca and Mg metabolism, and alter bone mineralisation and mechanical properties. The present study assessed morphological and mechanical changes in a murine model exposed to a high-fat/sucrose (HFS) diet, as well as corresponding molecular and endocrine markers of bone turnover. Female C57BL/6 mice (aged 9 weeks) consumed either a low-fat, complex carbohydrate diet or an HFS diet for 10 weeks. At the end of the 10 weeks, serum was collected for biochemical analysis. Tibiae from half the mice (n 15) were randomly selected to be micro-computed tomography scanned and tested to failure in cantilever bending, while the remaining half were prepared for real-time PCR analysis. Serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase was significantly elevated in HFS mice, while osteocalcin remained unchanged. Both body mass and percentage body fat were greater in mice fed HFS diet. After adjusting for body mass, tibial structural and morphological properties were adversely affected in the HFS cohort. Cortical thickness, cross-sectional area, and load at maximum were all significantly lower in mice fed HFS diet. Receptor activator of nuclear factor kb ligand (RANKL) mRNA was significantly upregulated in HFS mice, but osteoprotegerin/RANKL mRNA ratio remained unchanged between cohorts. Moreover, cyclo-oxygenase-2 mRNA tended to be increased in HFS. Thus, ingestion of an HFS diet had a significant adverse effect on mouse bone morphology and mechanics, and these effects were likely due to elevated osteoclast activity associated with the inflammatory state of obesity, and not necessarily osteoclast recruitment/ proliferation.Cortical bone: High-fat/sucrose diet: Biomechanics: C57BL/6 mice The changing face of disease aetiology over the past century has brought to the forefront the need to examine the environmental or modifiable risk factors that have influenced the epidemic of chronic disease afflicting a majority of the Western world. Nutritional status is a readily modifiable risk factor linked to numerous chronic conditions, including CHD, cancer, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis (1,2) . Nonetheless, despite the prevalence of research linking poor dietary choices to chronic disease status, the nutritional patterns presently dominating most Western nations continue to be high in saturated fats, Na and refined carbohydrates from sugars, cereals and dairy products, and low in fruits, vegetables and lean protein (3) .Considerable effort has focused on discovering the underlying nutritional factors that predispose an individual to osteopenia or osteoporosis and subsequent fracture (4) . Much research has concentrated on the role of Ca and vitamin D metabolites influencing bone morphology and mechanics; however, macronutrients such as fat, protein and carbohydrate also play a vital role in bone health (5) . Considered independently, consumption of diets composed of large amounts of saturated fat has been documented to cause the formation of insoluble soap complexe...