Many doctors used to think that being overweight was protective against developing osteoporosis. We now know otherwise... It is possible for too much fat to accumulate in bones, which weakens them and raises the risk of osteoporosis.

People with syndrome X (metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance) are most at risk of having fat bones. Researchers have found that having a fatty liver and having excessive fat within the skeletal muscle are both strongly correlated with having excess fat in bones. The correlation is stronger than for body mass index, exercise habits, and age. People with syndrome X accumulate fat in all the wrong places; they tend to have it in their liver, muscles, pancreas; inside their arteries and around their heart.

According to lead author Dr Miriam Bredella, from the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, “Bone marrow fat makes bones weak. If you have a spine that’s filled with fat, it’s not going to be as strong.”

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