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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Bone mineral mass in overweight and obese children: diminished or enhanced?
K J Ellis1, R J Shypailo, W W Wong
1USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. kellis@bcm.tmc.edu
Abstract:
Childhood obesity has become a worldwide health problem. Recent studies have suggested that obese and overweight children have lower bone mass. We used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to examine the relation between bone mineral content (BMC) and body fatness (%Fat) in healthy children. Obese children (%Fat>30%) had higher BMC compared with age-, gender-, and ethnic-matched children with normal adiposity (%Fat<25%). When adjusted for height, these differences were less significant. We conclude obese children do not have lower whole-body BMC when compared with leaner children, even when adjusted for height, age, gender, and ethnicity.
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