Bone metabolism in children with normal weight and overweight/obesity in a northeastern region of Spain.

OBJECTIVES: Bone mass progressively increases to peak during childhood and adolescence, which determines future bone health. Bone formation-resorption processes are assessed using bone markers. However, studies on the impact of obesity on bone turnover markers at this age are limited, and results are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to examine the potential impact of overweight/obesity on bone metabolism.

METHODS: A study was performed to compare parameters of bone metabolism in 45 girls and boys with normal weight (controls) and in a group of 612 girls and boys with overweight/obesity (cases) from the Exergames study (University of Zaragoza). Ages ranged from 8 to 12 years.

RESULTS: Higher values of phosphorus and IGFBP-3 were observed in children with overweight/obesity, as compared to children with normal weight, (p=0.042) and (p=0.042), respectively. BAP, osteocalcin, magnesium, vitamin D and IGF-I concentrations were lower in the group with overweight/obesity, whereas calcium concentrations were higher in this group, although differences were not statistically significant. A negative correlation was found (r=-0.193) (p=0.049) between BAP and BMI.

CONCLUSIONS: Although differences did not reach statistical significance, BAP and osteocalcin concentrations were lower in children with overweight/obesity. This added to the negative correlation found between BAP and MIC may demonstrate that overweight/obesity may negatively affect bone health already at a young age.