Despite higher bone mineral density (BMD), women with obesity are at an increased risk of fracture compared to normal-weight women. Optimal adolescent bone accrual is critical for normal peak bone mass acquisition and future bone health. Whereas several studies have examined the impact of low body weight on bone accrual in youth, data are lacking regarding the impact of obesity on bone accrual. We examined bone accrual over one year in young women with moderate to severe obesity (OB) (n = 21) versus normal-weight controls (NWC) (n = 50). Participants were 13-25 years old. We used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to assess areal BMD (aBMD) and high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (distal radius and tibia) to assess volumetric BMD (vBMD), bone geometry, and microarchitecture. Analyses were controlled for age and race. The mean age was 18.7 ± 2.7 years. OB and NWC were similar for age, race, height, and physical activity. OB had a higher BMI (p < 0.0001) and younger menarchal age (p = 0.022) than NWC. Over one year, OB did not demonstrate the increase in total hip BMD observed in NWC (p = 0.03). Increases in percent cortical area and cortical thickness, and cortical and total vBMD at the radius were lower in OB than in NWC (p ≤ 0.037). Groups did not differ for tibial bone accrual. We demonstrate that longitudinal bone accrual is impaired at the total hip and radial cortex in young women with obesity, raising concerns regarding their future bone health.
Keywords: Adolescents; Bone accrual; Bone density; Bone geometry; Bone microarchitecture; Obesity; Overweight.
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