A study suggested that excess belly fat is not only a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, but also a risk factor for bone loss or osteoporosis in men. Obese men with a lot of deep belly fat are at greater risk for bone-thinning than other men. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
While many people believe that bone loss mostly affects women, the researchers found that “visceral fat,” which is located deep under the muscles in the abdomen, is linked to bone loss and decreased bone strength in men.
“Most studies on osteoporosis have focused on women. Men were thought to be relatively protected against bone loss, especially obese men,” said Miriam Bredella, M.D., radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than 37 million American men over age 20 are obese. Obesity is associated with many health problems, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea and joint diseases. Yet despite all the health issues, it was commonly accepted that men with increased body weight were at lower risk for bone loss.
However, “it is important for men to be aware that excess belly fat is not only a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, it is also a risk factor for bone loss,” Bredella added.
The researchers evaluated 35 men with an average age of 34 years and an average body-mass index (BMI, a measure of height and weight) of 36.5, which is considered obese. The men underwent a CT scan of their abdomen and thigh to measure fat and muscle mass. They also had a high-resolution CT scan, known as finite element analysis (FEA), of their forearm to determine their bone strength and risk for fractures.
“FEA is a technique that is frequently used in mechanical engineering to determine the strength of materials for the design of bridges or airplanes, among other things,” Bredella explained. “FEA can determine where a structure will bend or break and the amount of force necessary to make the material break. We can now use FEA to determine the strength or force necessary to make a bone break.”
The study revealed that the men with more visceral and total abdominal fat had less bone strength than those with less abdominal fat. The researchers noted that the men’s age and total BMI did not have an impact on their bone strength.
“We were not surprised by our results that abdominal and visceral fat are detrimental to bone strength in obese men,” noted Bredella. “We were, however, surprised that obese men with a lot of visceral fat had significantly decreased bone strength compared to obese men with low visceral fat but similar BMI.”
The researchers pointed out that genetics, diet and exercise all play a role in the amount of visceral fat stored in the body. This type of deep belly fat is also linked to an increased risk for heart disease.
Although the researchers found an association between higher levels of belly fat and decreased bone strength, they did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
(Source: healthday.com)
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