Men with high body fat have low bone density & are more likely to get fractures, says study

HOUSTON: Men with high body fat have low bone density and are more likely to fracture bones compared to their counterparts with normal levels of body fat, a new US-based study has found.

According to the study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers analysed the bone mineral density and body composition data of 10,814 people under 60 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, US (NHANES) 2011-2018.

"We found that higher fat mass was related to lower bone density, and these trends were stronger in men than women," said Rajesh K Jain, M.D., of University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago, Ill.

The researchers found a strong positive association between lean mass and bone mineral density in both men and women.

Conversely, fat mass had a moderately negative association with bone mineral density, especially in men.

"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," Jain said.