Apple-shaped women more prone to osteoporosis - Overweight, apple-shaped women are more at risk of developing osteoporosis than those who are pear-shaped, a study has found.
The common perception has been that having a higher percentage of body fat protects against the bone-wasting disease.
But US researchers found that overweight women with lots of fat around their abdomens, as opposed to pear-shaped women with more fat on their hips and legs, were at greater risk of osteoporosis.
Overweight, apple-shaped women had lower bone mineral density, a tell-tale sign of developing osteoporosis
In their study 50 overweight, pre-menopausal women with an average body mass index (BMI) of 30 were scanned for their distribution of fat and their bone mineral density.
Those with more visceral fat - which is located deep under the muscle tissue in the abdominal cavity - had lower bone mineral density, one of the tell-tale indications of osteoporosis.
There was no strong link between either total fat or subcutaneous fat - which tends to be stored on the hips and thighs - and bone mineral density.
Dr Miriam Bredella, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, said: "We know that obesity is a major public health problem. Now we know that abdominal obesity needs to be included as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone loss."
She added: "Our results showed that having a lot of belly fat is more detrimental to bone health than having more superficial fat or fat around the hips.
"It is important for the public to be aware that excess belly fat is a risk factor for bone loss, as well as heart disease and diabetes."
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago on Monday.
According to the National Osteoporosis Society, half of women over 50 and a fifth of men will break a bone during the remainder of their lives, mainly because of poor bone health.
Women tend to suffer from it in later life more than men because they tend to lose bone mass at a greater rate after the menopause. ( telegraph.co.uk )
The common perception has been that having a higher percentage of body fat protects against the bone-wasting disease.
But US researchers found that overweight women with lots of fat around their abdomens, as opposed to pear-shaped women with more fat on their hips and legs, were at greater risk of osteoporosis.
Overweight, apple-shaped women had lower bone mineral density, a tell-tale sign of developing osteoporosis
In their study 50 overweight, pre-menopausal women with an average body mass index (BMI) of 30 were scanned for their distribution of fat and their bone mineral density.
Those with more visceral fat - which is located deep under the muscle tissue in the abdominal cavity - had lower bone mineral density, one of the tell-tale indications of osteoporosis.
There was no strong link between either total fat or subcutaneous fat - which tends to be stored on the hips and thighs - and bone mineral density.
Dr Miriam Bredella, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, said: "We know that obesity is a major public health problem. Now we know that abdominal obesity needs to be included as a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone loss."
She added: "Our results showed that having a lot of belly fat is more detrimental to bone health than having more superficial fat or fat around the hips.
"It is important for the public to be aware that excess belly fat is a risk factor for bone loss, as well as heart disease and diabetes."
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago on Monday.
According to the National Osteoporosis Society, half of women over 50 and a fifth of men will break a bone during the remainder of their lives, mainly because of poor bone health.
Women tend to suffer from it in later life more than men because they tend to lose bone mass at a greater rate after the menopause. ( telegraph.co.uk )
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