Is obesity in women protective against osteoporosis?

Silvia Migliaccio1,2, Emanuela A Greco1, Rachele Fornari1, Lorenzo M Donini1, Andrea Lenzi11Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Fisiopatologia, Endocrinologia e Nutrizione, Università Sapienza di Roma, 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università Foro Italico di Roma, ItaliaAbstract: The belief that obesity is protective against osteoporosis has recently come into question. The latest epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that a high level of fat mass might be a risk factor for osteoporosis and fragility fractures. Further, increasing evidence seems to indicate that different components of the metabolic syndrome, ie, hypertension, increased triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, are also potential risk factors for the development of low bone mineral density and osteoporosis. This review considers both the older and more recent data in the literature in order to evaluate further the relationship between fat tissue and bone tissue.Keywords: bone mineral density, fat mass, body mass index, fractures, adipocytes