Slight Body Mass Gains in Middle Age May Cut Later Fracture Risk

FRIDAY, May 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- People whose body mass index (BMI) slightly increases from normal weight to low-level overweight during 30 years of middle adulthood have a lower risk for fracture in later life, according to a study published online April 8 in Osteoporosis International.

Zihao Xin, from the Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues examined the association between BMI trajectories over middle adulthood with fracture risk in late adulthood. The analysis included 1,772 participants from the Framingham Original Cohort Study.

The researchers found that compared with the BMI trajectory of group 4 (normal to slightly overweight), group 1 (overweight declined to normal weight) had a higher all-fracture risk after age 65 years (hazard ratio, 2.22). In a secondary analysis, a similar pattern was seen for lower-extremity fractures (pelvis, hip, leg, and foot).

"These findings emphasize the importance of maintaining a stable BMI throughout adulthood to reduce the risk of fractures in later life," coauthor Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., of the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, said in a statement. "For overweight individuals, strategies to avoid bone loss during periods of weight loss during middle adulthood could be beneficial in terms of reducing fracture risk. This is especially true with the recent increases in the use of the new obesity drugs."

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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