Age-Related Trends in BMD and Body Composition in Korean Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: Journal of aging and physical activity 2008-07, Vol.16, p.S13-S13
• Main Authors: Kim, J, Kim, K-H, Lee, D J, Nho, H, Park, T S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1063-8652

Numerous studies have reported age-related increases in body weight and fatness and decreases in bone mineral density (BMD) after young adulthood. However, age-related trends in BMD and body composition among Koreans have not been studied sufficiently. A total of 208 healthy, sedentary women, age between 20 and 79 years, were recruited for this study. A cross-sectional study by age was designed to evaluate and describe the bone-mineral content (BMC), BMD, and body composition. A QDR-1000PLUS (Hologic, USA) was used to measure the BMC and BMD in segments L1-L4 of the lumbar spine. Percent body fat was measured by a body-fat analyzer (Tanita, Japan), and body-mass index was calculated by measurement of the height and body weight. These results showed that with advancing age, BMD was negatively correlated with age (-.568) and height (-.412) and positively correlated with weight (. 187). Increasing age is significantly associated with loss of BMD. This study suggest that the factors examined as determinants of bond mass in this study could not completely explain the loss of BMD with age, since the level of physical activity and diet were not investigated. Therefore, systemic factors such as hormones, growth factors, vitamins, and minerals, coupled with environmental factors such as diet and exercise, as well as physiological factors such as muscle mass and strength, need to be further studied.