Bone mineral density in childhood obesity

There are several metabolic and hormonal disturbances in childhood obesity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between childh ood obesity and bone mineral density (BMD), We studied BMD in 37 obese chil dren and in 37 non-obese children. BMD was measured at L-2-L-4 level by usi ng dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. BMD was significantly related to age, height and weight. The mean BMD in the obese children and control group was 0.655 +/- 0.175 and 0.626 +/- 0.159 g/cm(2), respectively, without any sta tistically significant difference (p>0.05). There was no correlation betwee n BMD values and osteocalcin or calcitonin levels. According to Tanner's pu bertal staging, the mean BMD of pubertal obese children was higher than tha t of prepubertal obese children. BMD or me pubertal obese children was sign ificantly higher than that of the pubertal control group (p<0.05). Girls ha d higher mean BMD values than boys. In conclusion, our results show that BM D is not influenced by obesity in children but higher values in puberty wer e observed in obese children which may due to hormonal changes.