Email a Friend
Printer Friendly
Slashdot It!
Submit to Reddit
Add to Facebook

Different fat types can help or hinder obese girls' bone health

March 01, 2010

Chevy Chase, MD- According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), obese teenage girls with a greater ratio of visceral fat (fat around internal organs) to subcutaneous fat (fat found just beneath the skin) are likely to have lower bone density than peers with a lower ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat.

"Visceral fat is known to increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease in obese people," said Madhusmita Misra, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and senior author of the study. "Our study suggests that visceral fat may also have an impact on bone health. This finding is particularly relevant given the rising prevalence of obesity and recent studies suggesting a higher risk of fractures in some obese individuals."

In this study, researchers examined 30 adolescent girls (15 obese/15 normal weight) between the ages of 12 and 18 years. After measuring weight and height, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure subcutaneous and visceral fat tissue and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess bone density at the spine, hip and whole body. They found that subcutaneous fat and visceral fat had reciprocal associations with bone density measures, with subcutaneous fat demonstrating positive associations and visceral fat demonstrating inverse associations.

"We do not yet fully understand the chemical mediators of the associations between regional fat and bone health," said Misra. "It is possible that inflammatory cytokines, types of signaling molecules used in cellular communication, or hormones like adiponectin or leptin are potential mediators of these associations between fat and bone, but further studies are needed to determine their true impact on bone metabolism."

The Endocrine Society

Related Subcutaneous Fat Current Events and Subcutaneous Fat News Articles

Subcutaneous Fat Current Events and Subcutaneous Fat News RSS

Distribution is what matters: How body fat influences the risk of diabetes
Waist circumference gives a better prediction of diabetes risk than does BMI.

Mouse stem cell study offers new insights into body fat distribution
New research being presented today at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Meeting in Nottingham shows that adding fat to mouse stem cells grown in the lab affects their response to the signals that push them to develop into one or other of the main types of fat storage cells - subcutaneous (under the skin) or visceral (around the organs).

How calorie-restricted diets fight obesity and extend life span
Scientists searching for the secrets of how calorie-restricted diets increase longevity are reporting discovery of proteins in the fat cells of human volunteers that change as pounds drop off.

For dialysis patients, skinny is dangerous
Dialysis patients with low body fat are at increased risk of death-even compared to patients at the highest level of body fat percentage, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego.

Exercise Keeps Dangerous Visceral Fat Away a Year After Weight Loss, Finds UAB Study
A study conducted by exercise physiologists in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Human Studies finds that as little as 80 minutes a week of aerobic or resistance training helps not only to prevent weight gain, but also to inhibit a regain of harmful visceral fat one year after weight loss.

Role for CISD2 gene in human disease and lifespan control
In the May 15th issue of G&D, Dr. Ting-Fen Tsai (The National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan) and colleagues present a new animal model of human Wolfram Syndrome, and effectively link CISD2 gene function, mitochondrial integrity and aging in mammals.

Depression linked with accumulation of visceral fat
Numerous studies have shown that depression is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, but exactly how has never been clear.

Difference in fat storage may explain lower rate of liver disease in African-Americans
Where different ethnic groups store fat in their bodies may account for differences in the likelihood they'll develop insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

'Healthy' individuals may be at risk for heart disease
In the face of a growing obesity epidemic in the United States, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have new study results that indicate that how much fat a person has is not as important as where that fat is located when assessing risk for cardiovascular events and metabolic disease.

Growth hormone reduces abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk in HIV patients on antiviral therapy
Low-dose growth hormone treatment reduced abdominal fat deposits and improved blood pressure and triglyceride levels in a group of patients with HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

More Subcutaneous Fat Current Events and Subcutaneous Fat News Articles

	Conditions of the Subcutaneous Fat; Adiposis Dolorosa, Erythema Nodosum, Tumor Lysis Syndrome, Barraquer-Simons Syndrome, Lipodermatosclerosis by LLC Books (Creator)
	SKINFOLD MEASUREMENT; A METHOD OF DETERMINING SUBCUTANEOUS FAT by Kathleen R. Stitt (Author)
	Serial Changes in Subcutaneous Fat Thicknesses of Children & Adults (Monographs in Paediatrics) by Alex F. Roche (Author), R. B. Reed (Author), R. M. Siervogel (Author)
	The distribution of subcutaneous fat in childhood and adolescence (Fels monograph series) by Earle L Reynolds (Author)
	Effect of pre-slaughter factors on fatty acids in subcutaneous and intramuscular fat of wethers by Bronislaw Borys (Author)