Is Childhood Obesity Associated with Bone Density and Strength in Adulthood?

Compared to normal-weight adults, overweight and obese persons have not only greater bone mineral density (BMD), but they lose bone at a slower pace, and may even have a reduced risk of fragility fractures [1, 2]. As regards the effect of childhood obesity on bone mass, findings are inconsistent [3-5]. Some studies have attributed greater bone mass to excess body weight in the growing years [5-8] but it has also been suggested that obese children have lower bone mass for a given weight [9-11].