Overweight children have a greater proportion of fat mass relative to muscle mass in the upper limbs than in the lower limbs: Implications for bone strength at the distal forearm

The influence of adiposity on upper-limb bone strength has rarely been studied in children, despite the high incidence of forearm fractures in this population. Objective: The objective was to compare the influence of muscle and fat tissues on bone strength between the upper and lower limbs in prepubertal children. Design: Bone mineral content, total bone cross-sectional area, cortical bone area (CoA), cortical thickness (CoTh) at the radius and tibia (4% and 66%, respectively), trabecular density (TrD), bone strength index (4% sites), cortical density (CoD), stress-strain index, and muscle and fat areas (66% sites) were measured by using peripheral quantitative computed tomography in 427 children (206 boys) aged 7-10 y. Results: Overweight children (n = 93) had greater values for bone variables