RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Nutritional as well as genetic and hormonal factors play an important role in the bone mineralization during childhood and adolescence. There are several physical and metabolic changes in obese children, and these changes may influence on the mineralization of the skeleton. The studies about bone mineralization of obese children are rare and contradictory. This study was performed to evaluate the influence of childhood obesity on bone mineral density(BMD). METHODS: The BMD of 49 obese and 41 non-obese children were measured at lumbar spines(L2-L4) using dual energy X-ray bone absorptiometry. Then, the results were assessed and compared according to the degree of obesity and pubertal sex maturation. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in BMD between obese children and non-obese children(0.87+/-.19 g/cm2 vs 0.81+/-.13 g/cm2). BMD increased according to the Tanner' pubertal staging, and the most marked increment was observed at overt puberty. No sex difference in BMD was seen in both obese and non-obese children. BMD was highly correlated with age, height, weight and body mass index(BMI), but there was no significant correlation between BMD and osteocalcin. CONCLUSION: BMD of obese children was not significantly different from that of non-obese children, and BMD also was not changed according to the degree of obesity. These findings suggest that BMD is not influenced by obesity in children.