Here is another reason to get rid of excess belly fat. A groundbreaking study asserts that women with extreme internal abdominal fat have higher chances of developing osteoporosis. Abdominal obesity seems to be a risk factor for osteoporosis and bone loss.
Scientists point out that belly fat and body fat are not the same. Subcutaneous fat is probably below the skin and visceral or intra-abdominal fat deep under the muscle tissue within the abdominal cavity. Abdominal subcutaneous, visceral and total fat, as well as bone marrow fat and bone mineral density were examined among 50 premenopausal women with a mean BMI of 30. Participants were subjected to an MR spectroscopy exam for evaluating the bone marrow fat of the L4, the fourth vertebra in the lumbar section of the spine.
Bone mineral density of the L4 was examined with the help of quantitative computed tomography (QCT). Presumably, QCT measures bone mass and employed for analyzing bone loss. Investigators note that women with more visceral fat have elevated bone marrow fat along with declined bone mineral density. No dramatic association between subcutaneous fat or total fat and bone marrow fat or bone mineral density appeared. Miriam A. Bredella, M.D., a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, the study’s lead author and colleagues conclude that lot of belly fat is probably harmful for bone health.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).