In a new study from the University of Chicago Medicine, researchers found that men with high levels of body fat have lower bone density and may be more likely to break a bone than those with normal levels of body fat.
Previous studies have shown positive or neutral effects of body fat mass—the weight of fat in your body—on bone health.
Lean mass is the entire weight of your body, including organs, skin, and bones, minus fat.
Health care providers often assume people with higher body weight have high bone density and are at low risk of fracture, and these patients are less likely to be screened for osteoporosis.
In the current study, the team examined the bone mineral density and body composition data of 10,814 people under 60 years old from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2018.
They found a strong positive association between lean mass and bone mineral density in both men and women.
Conversely, the fat mass had a moderately negative association with bone mineral density, especially in men.
As Rajesh K. Jain, M.D., of the University of Chicago Medicine says, higher fat mass was related to lower bone density, and these trends were stronger in men than women.
Health care providers should consider osteoporosis screening for patients with high body weight, especially if they have other risk factors like older age, previous fracture, family history, or steroid use.
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The study was conducted by Rajesh K. Jain et al. and published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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