Unlike adults, obese adolescents who lose weight seem to keep gaining bone density as they shed their excess weight. Some past studies have found that overweight and obese children are at greater risk of bone fractures than their normal-weight peers. The reasons are not certain, since a few studies show that obese adolescents typically have greater bone mass than thinner teens do. Factors unrelated to bone mass might help explain the higher fracture risk. For example, falls may be harder on obese children owing to their extra weight or poorer coordination. Researchers in America studied 62 obese adolescents who completed an intensive year-long weight-loss program and had X-rays to chart changes in their bone mineral content. It was found that even as the teenagers lost weight, their bone mass continued to increase and remained higher than that of a comparison group of thin adolescents. The findings suggest that bone health of obese adolescents is not a cause of worry during weight loss.
Obesity,
February 2008