Author(s)

Tarfa Albrahim

Department of Health Sciences, Clinical Nutrition, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between obesity and osteoporosis. A total of 30 Saudi women, aged between 20 and 50 years, were selected randomly. We calculated each subject’s body mass index (BMI) and determined their lumbar and femur bone mineral densities using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We examined the interaction between obesity and bone mineral density (BMD) using logistic regression, after adjusting for age, family history of osteoporosis, maternal fractures, smoking, and any sedentary lifestyles. BMI was shown to be the most effective independent variable with respect to bone density. We evaluated the Pearson correlation coefficients of BMI, BMD of the lumbar spine, and BMD of the femoral neck with reference to the variables of the study, and found a significant correlation (P < 0.05) between obesity and osteoporosis. In conclusion, we showed that obese women (BMI > 30 kg/m2) were at increased risk of osteoporosis at the femoral neck and severe osteopenia in the lumbar spine.

Obesity, Osteoporosis, Body Mass Index, Bone Mineral Density, Osteopenia

Albrahim, T. (2018) The Relationship between Bone Mineral Density and Obesity in Women. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9, 136-144. doi: 10.4236/fns.2018.92011.