Belly fat may be bad for women's
bone health, raising their risk of osteoporosis, researchers report.
In a study of 50 premenopausal
women, many of whom were obese, those who had
more fat around the waistline were more likely to have low bone mineral
density, an osteoporosis risk factor.
"We found that in young
women, deep belly fat is bad for the bones," Miriam Bredella,
MD, assistant professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard
Medical School, tells WebMD. "We now know that abdominal obesity needs to
be included as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone loss."
Bredella presented her findings here at the annual
meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).(Read
entire article)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101130100355.htm
For years, it was believed that
obese women were at lower risk for developing osteoporosis, and that excess
body fat actually protected against bone loss. However, a study presented at
the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) found
that having too much internal abdominal fat may, in fact, have a damaging
effect on bone health.
"We know that obesity is a
major public health problem," said the study's lead author, Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., a radiologist at Massachusetts General
Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in
Boston. "Now we know that abdominal obesity needs to be included as a risk
factor for osteoporosis and bone loss." (Read
entire article)