If you’re over 50, be careful! Having too much fat in your arms may put you at a higher risk for a spine fracture, a new study says. The research, presented at the recent European Congress of Endocrinology in Sweden, is the first to identify that the body composition of the arms is associated with poor bone quality and health.

According to senior study author, Dr. Eva Kasi, an endocrinologist and professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, the findings could better help identify high-risk individuals and empower people to manage the amount of fat on their bodies.

“This could imply that subcutaneous fat of the arm, which can also be easily estimated by the simple and inexpensive skin-fold caliper method, could become a useful index of spinal bone quality, possibly predicting the risk of vertebral fractures,” Cassi says in a news release.

How is arm fat related to spinal strength?,

The study included 115 men and women with no arthritis symptoms and an average age of 62 years to measure their body fat and spinal bone quality.

According to experts, spinal fractures are the most common fractures associated with osteoporosis – which reduces bone mass and bone mineral density. However, many people are unaware of osteoporosis, which weakens bones, until they get injured or show symptoms such as severe pain and swelling. For the study, participants’ bone mineral density scores were measured through an imaging technique – dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry or DEXA – as well as a trabecular bone score, which helps assess the quality of your bone.

It was found that people who had greater amounts of excess body fat, particularly visceral fat and subcutaneous fat in the arms, had lower spinal bone quality. The relationship between arm fat and spinal strength surprised the researchers. “Surprisingly, we identified for the first time that the body composition of the arms — specifically, the fat mass of the arms — is negatively associated with bone quality and vertebral strength,” Kassie said in the news release.

Previous studies have also shown that visceral fat is hormonally a more active component of total body fat and produces molecules that provoke low-level inflammation – leading to bone problems. According to doctors, losing weight can help with bone health.

How to keep your bones strong?,

Here are some ways to keep your bones strong:

regular exercise

Regular physical activity helps build new tissue, which keeps bones strong and fit. Experts recommend weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging, climbing stairs, dancing, jumping rope, and playing basketball, which help build strong bones and slow down bone degradation.

Eat healthy foods

According to doctors, your diet should include foods rich in calcium and vitamin D – including dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt, as well as fortified soya, rice and oat beverages, tofu, sesame seeds, tahini, pulses and green leafy vegetables.

You can also get vitamin D from sunlight and supplements.

Lifestyle changes

Quit smoking and drinking alcohol completely to reduce bone loss

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